We'll Meet Again
by chartreuseian
Summary: When an old friend drops by for a cup of tea, how badly can things go awry? Well, if she's carrying these kind of secrets, very. BEWARE THE O/C!
1. Arrival

**This is, quite literally, the first thing I ever wrote for Sanctuary. Naturally, it's been an ongoing project over the past few months but the first few chapters especially are a bit rough because, in the time since I wrote this, my writing style has changed quite a bit.**

**This is set late in season three, after Awakening but before the second Hollow Earth incident so, you know, spoilers... Oh, and pretty much everyone makes an appearance in this and while I am an self professed Teslen shipper, should you dislike that concept (shame on you :P), you'll be easily able to overlook it, I think. And there will be bits you love :P **

**There's a bit of everything in here, from romance to adventure with a little angst thrown in for good measure as well as, prepare yourselves, an original character! I know, bold move, yeah? But I just thought I'd give everyone a heads up in case it's not your thing :)**

**Ideally this is part one of a three part series that I've actually got all sketched out and while I've started the other two, we'll see how this one's received before I commit to two more rounds of insanity...**

**One chapter per week I think ought to do it, if only so I can properly edit and make a start on the next one. When/if finish the next one, I'll speed up the updates a bit :) **

**Also, the title comes from the WWII song, 'We'll Meet Again' sung by Vera Lynn. Not essential listening but I'd thoroughly recommend it.**

**Also, I don't own Sanctuary. So don't sue. You'll get a vast collection of Teslen stories but not much else. Oh, and a set of Stargate coasters but I don't think that's really worth the effort.**

**And I promise there will be no more ridiculously long A/N's.**

**Let me know what you think!**

**xx**

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><p>"Are the Aussie's always this demanding?" Will asked, scrubbing a hand over his face as he dropped the file back to onto the desk.<p>

"They often feel they go unheard," Helen said diplomatically as she scanned over the request form that was the source of too many of her problems of late.

"And so they make the most noise," Will surmised and Helen was unable to hold back a chuckle. Letting out a groan he swiped up his coffee cup and took a swig of the cooling liquid. They'd been working through the piles of paperwork for hours now and sadly getting nowhere. While field trips might make for an interesting change, Will was quickly realising that the days that followed them were almost always painful, cracked ribs aside.

"Next time I suggest we go to Egypt in search of an abnormal with the ability to heal anything, remind me of this moment, will you?"

"Is the backlog of paper work too much for you?" Helen quipped, not looking up from the document she was signing.

"You're enjoying this," Will accused playful, catching sight of the smirk on her lips.

"Just a little," she agreed with a small smile. "But can you blame me? Every time any of you suggest a 'field trip' this is what happens."

"You have my deepest sympathies," Will said mockingly in his very worst British accent as he grabbed the file again. Helen chuckled again but said nothing.

Just as he began to read again, the door to Helen's office swung open and a rather sodden looking Kate and Henry came trudging in.

"Here's your mail," Kate grumbled, dumping a thankfully dry stack of letters on the desk before shooting Henry a dark glare.

"And, uh, I think I've fixed the last of the bugs in the mail system," Henry stuttered, trying not to look at Kate's murderous face.

"What's with the water?" Will asked, edging away from the puddles surrounding them.

"It's not water," Kate hissed angrily, crossing her arms.

"So don't want to know," Will said, holding up his hands in defeat.

"Perhaps, next time, you could wait until the mail system is broken before attempting to fix it," Helen suggested carefully and Henry blushed.

"Yeah, of course Doc, it's just that, well, at the moment it all funnels into one-."

"Shut it Hank. You owe me a new leather jacket," Kate said, cutting him off. Henry opened his mouth again to protest but Kate's icy glare helped him to stay quiet.

"Don't you already have like six of those?" Will asked absently as Helen began to sort through the letters, ignoring the banter before her.

"7," Kate corrected. "But this was my favourite. And it's vintage. And it's ruined." With the last word she turned again to look at a sheepish looking Henry who smiled tentatively.

"I already promised to buy you a new one," he argued meekly.

"You should know better than to get between Kate and her jackets," Will joked, happy to be out of the immediate line of fire.

"I've lost my best three in the past six weeks," Kate complained, glaring at Will who, seeing the murder in her eyes, was beginning to regret getting into this fight.

"They weren't all my fault," Henry protested, drawing Kate's wrath back to him. Certain that he wasn't about to be belted around the head with a ruined leather jacket, Will felt a little better.

"Hey Magnus, isn't there some kind of leather jacket remuneration fund or something?" Will asked with a smile, turning back to face their boss whose face was now creased in concentration. "Magnus, is something wrong?" Will continued, now on high alert. In front of here were two piles of letters, one opened and the other not. In her hand was a single, small piece of heavy looking paper, a crisp crease running down the centre of it.

"It can't be," Helen breathed, eyes glued to the note in her hand.

"What is it?" Will asked urgently, leaning over to try and read the note upside down. Helen's fingers traced across the pink scrawl on the paper and, even if he'd been able to read the elegant script upside down, she folded it up again and Will had to resort to other means to find out what it said.

"What's up?" he asked again as she stood up. She grabbed an envelope of a similar style to the note she held before thrusting her hand out to Will, brilliant smile on her face. Noting the giddy look of excitement on her face, Will took the letter proffered to him and read it quickly.

_Helen,_

_Incoming_

_ x_

_PS: Black, three sugars._

It was short and to the point, words written in an old fashioned script that reminded Will of her own. The front of the letter bore nothing more than _Helen_ in the same pink and cursive script of the letter and, as when he flipped it over, Will was just as confused as before. He looked up to further question his enigma of a boss but she'd already begun to stride towards the still open door.

Tossing the letter to a confused looking Henry and Kate, Will began to hurry after their boss.

"Magnus, what does it mean?" he called as she rounded a corner. Picking up his pace, Will almost ran into the back of her as he too rounded the corner.

"Are the other's coming?" she asked, sounding a trite impatient.

"Ah, I think so," Will answered, turning around in time to see his perplexed looking colleagues hurrying after him.

"Uh, guys?" Henry asked nervously as Helen once again took off at a clip, the others following in her footsteps. "What is this?"

"Yeah, who's coming?" Kate added on as they approached the stair case.

"Wait," Will yelled, starting to get desperate. "What is this? Who is it from?"

Still without an answer, the four of them began to descend the stairs to main entrance hall. Helen paused for a moment to look down at her watch, causing the others to run into her. After regaining her balance, she turned to face them, small frown in place.

"Really," she chastised lightly, "there was no need to run." With that she turned from them and kept walking down the stairs.

"But we still don't get it," Kate said, hurrying after the boss, trying not to leave too many puddles behind her. "Who sent this? What do those numbers mean?"

"It's the time and date," Helen said over her shoulder, waiting patiently for her team as they reached the ground floor.

"So, what? 9:21 on the 9th of the 21st, that doesn't make sense?"

"No, 9:21 on the 21st of the 9th," she replied patiently.

All three looked down at their watches.

"That's, well, that's now," Henry said, running a hand through his hair. "But I still don't-," he started but Helen was already heading over to the vast front door. With one swift movement, she pulled open the door and a wide smile appeared on her face and her happiness was infectious.

"It's about bloody time. I thought I was going to have to knock!"

Helen shook her head slightly but smiled at her guest before stepping back, opening her home to someone Will could only assume was an old friend. The guest stepped over the threshold before throwing back the cream hood on her cloak, smiling as she surveyed the room. Her light brown hair was pulled him into a high pony tail and her brown eyes were sparkling mischievously as she smiled at those in front of her. The girl was young, her round face and plush lips contradicting the way she held herself. She looked so confident and it was not a confidence born of naivety but one of experience and knowledge, Will noted. With her creamy skin, marred only by a light dusting of freckles over the bridge of her pert nose, Will couldn't help but feel, regardless of whatever keen intelligence the girl clearly held, in comparison to many of Magnus's other old friends, she was rather plain.

"Must you complain?" Helen asked, trying to hide a smile, "I'm right on time."

The girl scoffed. "Look at your watch Helen," she advised in her clipped British accent as she pulled off a pair of white, roughly woven mittens. Helen, much to the surprise of her team, did as instructed, her brow furrowing.

"You can't have been out there for more than a minute," she said finally, looking the smaller woman in the eye.

"Doesn't change the fact that you were late," the girl responded before tartly. There was a brief pause as the two women tried to suppress the smiles that were playing with the corners of their mouths. The younger woman cocked her head the side and, in response, Helen raised her eyebrows.

The younger woman laughed heartily. "It's good to see you too, Helen," she said warmly before launching herself into Helen's arms. Helen laughed too as she hugged the smaller woman tightly, smiling happily.

"Rosie?" Henry questioned, understanding dawning over his face. Will and Kate looked at each other in confusion as the girl, Rosie, broke away from Magnus and turned to Henry.

"Henry," she said happily before throwing her arms around his neck.

"I can't believe it's you," Henry said as he released Rosie from his hug.

"It's wonderful to see you again, darling," she said warmly. "Though I am wondering why you are so thoroughly drenched." Her tone was teasing and Henry blushed. Rosie smiled once more at him before turning to Kate and Will. Helen stepped forwards and gestured to the girl, standing in front of them.

"Will, Kate, this is Rose."

Rose reached out her hand to Kate. "It's wonderful to meet you," she said warmly.

"You too," Kate said uncertainly, answering the other woman's smile tentatively.

"And I'm Will," Will said, holding out his hand, still feeling a little confused at Magnus' actions.

"Rosi-," the girl started before her eyes glazed over, her grip on Will's hand tightening. She seemed to sway for a moment before snapping out of it, the breath rushing out of her quickly. She looked up into Will's eyes, her gaze reminded him of Magnus when she was trying to solve a puzzle.

She remained frozen in place for a second before she stepped forward, letting go of Will's hand instead grabbing the front of his shirt as she pulled his lips down to hers for a bruising kiss. Fire swept through his body as Will unconsciously started to kiss her back, his hands moving to hold her shoulders. Suddenly, Rosie stepped back, her eyes wide, breathing heavy as she gnawed on her bottom lip, looking a little sheepish.

"Of course," Helen said, rolling her eyes. Rosie turned to her, eyes flashing mischievously, the corner of her mouth twitching as she held back a smile, previous embarrassment gone in the blink of an eye.

"I'm sorry, Will," she said, not looking away from Helen's gaze. "That shouldn't have happened, I apologize." Helen let out a chuckle as she watched her dumbfounded protégé.

"So, tea?" Rosie asked hopefully, looking between the stunned group.

"Ah, well, there wasn't enough time," Helen started, drawing the girl's attention. Rosie's face fell before she crossed her arms.

"I sent that letter weeks ago Helen," she muttered darkly, her disappointment showing.

"Unfortunately, I received your letter only minutes before your arrival," Helen said, not looking at Henry's now guilty face.

"Oh," Rosie said, face falling as she took in what anyone would have thought to be catastrophic news. Of course, Will mused, if she really was as close to Helen as she seemed, a lack of tea really could be a crushing blow. Rosie glanced back over to Will momentarily, her mouth quirking into a smirk for a second before she turned back to Helen.

"Marcus said to say hi," she said enthusiastically and, while Will and the others were confused, Helen's face lit up. "I ran into him while I was in the Himalayas, hence the dress," she continued, gesturing to the long white, silk dress that was barely visible under the cloak she wore. "He was about to attack us and then I remembered that thing you told me about calming him down so I started singing and dancing and everyone thought I was completely crazy but then he stopped and just stared at me and then we got to talking and-."

Dropping off midsentence, Rose spun on her heel to face the archway on one side of the room, her excitement at her story turning to fury in an instant. Her body shifted slightly, muscles tensing as a low growl slipped through her teeth. Stretching her neck slowly, her eyes flamed with anger and her mouth curled into a deadly sneer. Animosity was rolling off her in waves and Will immediately began to worry.

"Why is _he_ here?" Rose asked, her voice lethal and a fresh batch of shivers rolled down everyone's spine.

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><p><strong>So, do you hate me? Do you hate Rose? I know I do most of the time...<strong>


	2. Nicknames

**I hate this one, I really do but I've reworked it as much as I can without rewriting the entire chapter. Sorry. Promise it does get less shit :P**

**Thank you to those who have not only reviewed but hit the lovely little alert button too, this fic is my baby so it means a lot to me :) This'll be a big one so strap yourselves in!**

**xx**

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><p>"Who?" Henry asked, he'd only seen Rose like this once before and things hadn't ended well for the attacker.<p>

"The Serbian cur," she spat acidly, her eyes full of loathing as she remained perfectly and unnaturally still. Her teeth seemed sharper and her hands were primed, as if she was going to claw someone's eyes out.

"Pegasus," a voice drawled from behind them, his voice ominous and distorted as he morphed into something far from human. Rosie spun around faster than anyone expected, the full force of her fury directed at Nikola Tesla, a feral growl reverberating from deep within the girl's small body as she rolled her shoulders, lips curling back in a snarl. Instinctively, Kate, Will and Henry took a step back but Helen and Nikola both took a simultaneous step towards the fearsome girl. Nikola smiled though his fangs as his black eyes glittered menacingly. Rose's eyes, on the other hand, swirled until the cheeky brown was replaced by shining white orbs that seemed to glow in their sockets.

"Please, Rose," Helen said, her boredom at these antics obvious but Rosie seemed not to hear her. Helen took another step forwards and looked to take another as Kate opened her mouth.

"Ahhh, Doc? You sure that's a good idea?" she questioned, not taking her eyes from the clearly angry girl barely a metre away from them. The pure hatred the newcomer was now displaying made Kate's earlier display of anger seem futile and she knew it.

Helen ignored the query and moved even closer to the pair, both subtly crouched, ready to attack.

"Stop this. Now," Helen said, her voice allowing no compromise. A tense moment passed but, with one last growl Rose straightened up and with a withering look for the vampire who was sheathing his claws, turned to face Helen.

"You shouldn't fear Helen," Rosie said as her eyes changed back to their normal colour, "I am more than happy to clean up after myself." Nikola let out a growl, but a human growl, his inner vampire retreating as requested and Rose smiled serenely.

"Insolent," Nikola started as he closed the distance between himself and the girl in the white cloak.

"Hush now, Nikki," Rosie said, holding up a hand to quiet him. "The adults are talking," her tone was patronizing in the extreme and she seemed unaware of the dangerous creature she was provoking. Helen knew better.

"Both of you stop it. Now," she said, hands on hips. "And I won't be asking again." She had to bite her tongue to keep from calling them children. And Nikola thought her team was bad.

"While I'd love nothing better than to rip your delightful guest limb from limb, for you, my love, I shall refrain," Nikola said coming to stand beside her, placing a hand on her lower back. Without a second thought, Helen shoved away his arm but not before Rosie let her mouth curl back into a snarl, a throaty growl escaping.

"Nikki," Rosie said again, tossing her shoulders back and looking him right in the eye, no mean feat considering she was barely as tall as his shoulders. A smirk appeared on her face as he fought to contain a snarl at the nickname he clearly hated. Will, Kate and Henry, who had come slightly closer now that the fight seemed to have been diffused, looked at each other, silently making a mental note never to even try and call Nikola, Nikki.

"Not only is ripping someone limb from limb highly uncivilised but it also, in your case would be quite impossible," Rosie continued, her voice light, a soft smile playing with her lips.

"The girl not wearing shoes is calling me uncivilised?" Nikola asked, raising an eyebrow. The group simultaneously looked down at Rosie's feet which she quickly hid under her floor length dress. They stood silently for a moment, Rosie and Nikola sizing each other up, Will, Kate and Henry trying to figure out what on earth had just gone on and Helen was internally cursing herself for not keeping Nikola away. The pair of abnormals seemed to settle down slightly and while it was clear Helen was the only thing keeping them from killing each other, they both had re-established their well honed manners that spoke of Victorian upbringings.

"So, umm, how do you know Helen and, uh Tesla?" Will finally asked, his voice shaky but his need to break the silence outweighed his fear. Rosie spun around quickly with a smile.

"I found Helen at Oxford, right after she…" her face went dark before continuing, "after she discarded of her humanity." Helen scoffed, as did Nikola at the explanation.

"So, you're a… I mean you've got… I mean are you-,"

"An 'abnormal' as you would say? Yes, I am," she answered, seeing Will's discomfort. Looking relieved, Will stepped back slightly.

"Which is why we call her Pegasus," Nikola said, smirking as Rosie turned around slowly to face him, a visible calm settling over her.

"I am no horse, you abomination," she said smoothly, eyeing him off. Something in her gaze made him step back involuntarily.

"Just wait 'til you can see what she can do," Henry enthused, trying to break the tension. Rose turned and smiled kindly at her old friend.

"You flatter me," she said with a tiny but genuine smile. She opened her mouth to say something more but then stopped and turned back to Helen.

"I have no intention of destroying your home again," she said with a glint in her eye.

"Well history says otherwise," Helen answered.

"What?" Kate blurted out, confused at the seemingly baseless dialogue. Slowly, so as not to scare her, Rosie turned to Kate and smiled.

"I have the ability to decipher and manipulate brainwaves," she said softly as if talking to a particularly slow child.

"Pardon?" Kate asked, raising her eyebrows.

"In essence, Rose can read minds," Helen said, stepping forward and away from Nikola's arm which had somehow found its way back around her waist.

"That's cool," Kate said, her eyes widening in new found respect for the other girl.

"And I get visions, that's what happened before," Rosie continued as she turned to face Will who blushed before shoving his hands in his pockets and staring at the floor.

"What did you see?" he asked, still not game to look up.

"The future," she answered, smirking at Helen who simply rolled her eyes.

"But how does it work?" Kate interjected, her curiosity avid.

Rosie chuckled, "It's a long story, and not one to get into now," she answered with a smile.

"But tell them about the other stuff," Henry said excitedly, bouncing up and down like a small child. Before anyone had time to think, Rosie had spun to face Nikola again.

"I am not," she said hotly, talking to something no one else had heard.

"What?" Henry asked, confused at the sudden change of tack.

"You're jealous Nikki, and green has never been your colour," she continued, ignoring Henry as her eyes bored into Nikola's. The corner of her mouth twitched and her eyes flicked to Helen's annoyed expression for just a second.

"Jealous of a mighty steed? Hardly," Nikola answered, his voice growing darker as Rosie stepped closer to him, her hands curling into fists.

"Here we go," Helen muttered, certain that they were both too caught up in their own world to hear her. Rosie paused for a second before letting out a snort of derision.

"You certainly have a high opinion of your abilities, Nikki," she said, cocking her head to one side as she took a step closer. After a beat her face took on a cold veneer.

"Do not goad me Nikki."

There was another pause before Nikola's smiled widened.

"You're on," he said as he towered over the girl.

Rosie snarled at him before spinning around to face Helen.

"Please?" she asked, her voice softer now as she began begging for something no one else had heard. Helen just stared for a minute before rolling her eyes.

"Fine, but not here. And don't you dare break anything," she said as both Rosie and Nikola's faces lit up with glee.

"Wait up," said Kate, still confused. "What's going on?" she asked, looking to Helen for answers.

"You wanted to see what I was capable of?" Rosie asked as she reached up to undo the silver clasp on her cloak, letting it fall to the ground.

"I never said that," Kate replied, her voice growing wary.

"Another perk of being part horse," Nikola responded sarcastically from behind her. Rosie growled but didn't look away from Kate.

"The mind reader-y thing?" Kate asked, confused.

"Correct," Rose answered, clearly working to keep her voice steady.

"Now, shall we?" she said, turning to face Helen again.

"Use the cathedral you destroyed last time you were here," she advised. With a grin, Rosie started to walk away from the rest of the group.

"Woah! What happened to your back?" Will said, running after the retreating figure. Her floor length dress was cut away at the back to reveal to large silver scars running down her back, starting on each of her shoulder blades.

Rosie paused and looked over at Will kindly as they waited for the rest of the group to catch up with them.

"Nothing, you'll see," she said, tapping her foot impatiently, making the silk of her dress shimmer in the dim lights. The second they caught up to her, Nikola let out a growl and walked ahead, clearly eager to get wherever they were going.

"But how did you do it?" Kate asked, her mind still reeling from having her own thoughts voiced by someone else.

"All in good time," Rosie answered lightly, skipping faster and faster in her haste to get down the corridor. Helen shook her head, these two were incorrigible, always had been always would be. "It's not nice to call people names," Rosie sing-songed over her shoulder in response to Helen's thoughts.

"Nor is it polite to delve into someone's mind without asking," Helen responded, quickening her pace to catch up to the rest of the group.

"Pish posh," Rosie chimed back with a carefree laugh.


	3. Hearts Break When History Repeats

**Again, not entirely happy with this one but after the positive response to the previous one, I'm feeling a little more comfortable posting this.**

**The song mentioned is Teeth by Lady Gaga and is actually a rather catchy song if, like me, you listened to it on repeat for the better part of writing this story...**

**Thank you to all those reviewing, it really makes me smile to know people care enough to review :)**

**xx**

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><p>Nikola, who had been stalking through the corridors stopped and threw open the heavy door dramatically. Rosie, ignoring him completely strode through the door while each of the others did so in a far more timid manner. Helen was the last to go through so turned to thank Nikola but was surprise (though she really shouldn't have been) when he appeared right next to her, an arm wrapped around her waist. She shook him off and walked forwards.<p>

"I will not be a part of your games, Nikola," she said sternly as she made her way over to the rest of her team who seemed to have taken refuge against one of the walls as Rosie stood in the centre of the cavernous room, muscles tensed.

"Come on, Nikki, stop making excuses," she taunted, rolling her shoulders. Her hands were balled in anticipation of the fight, lean muscle rippling as she flexed and stretched discreetly.

Nikola let out a growl and threw off his suit jacket, tossing it over to Will, who only just managed to catch it.

"Children," he grumbled before undoing the buttons of his waistcoat and taking off his cravat.

"Be nice Nikki, or you'll be punished," Rosie chastised, an evil grin coming to light on the last word.

"I'd love to see you try," he threw out, stretching his neck. The two began to circle each other, arms wide, eyes locked on each other with frightening intensity.

"Henry," Rosie called out, her voice as calm and cultured as ever. "Could we have some music?" Henry snapped into action.

"What kind?" he called back.

"Oh, I don't know. Something with a bit of bass." Helen shook her head, this was not how she expected this visit to start off, generally being visited by a long lost friend was far more enjoyable than watching said long lost friend attempt to decapitate another close friend. Especially when she knew what the real motive was.

"Lighten up, Helen," Rosie called out, finally breaking eye contact with Nikola to look over at her, "I promise I won't kill him."

"No promises here," Nikola growled, drawing Rosie's attention back to him. Suddenly music filled the space, soaring up into the night sky through the highly damaged roof. Rosie grinned, her smile was cold and calculating, showing off every one of her pearly white teeth.

"You remembered," she said with a fond glance at Henry. "Come on Nikki, show me you're fangs. The song demands it," she taunted, her voice soft as she turned back to him.

"You first," Nikola snarled back.

"Being re-vamped has done nothing for your sense of humour," she chastised, tutting at him as her brow furrowed in mock scorn. Nikola let out another snarl and opened his mouth to respond but, just as the music reached a crescendo, Rosie launched herself at him, grinning as she did so.

Her hands connected with his shoulders, forcing him back and they slid until they hit a wall with enough force to resonate through the empty room.

"What happened to those super human senses of yours?" Rosie asked, her voice barely audible over the pumping music. Nikola struggled against her grip, but she held him back without breaking a sweat. With a sweet smile, Rose sprang back gracefully and Nikola straightened himself out, his face darkening.

"Show me your monster, darling," Rose purred with a soft smile. Nikola said nothing, starting to stalk forwards. Rosie stopped moving, allowing Nikola to come to her. Quicker than anyone was expecting, Nikola raised a fist and swung at Rosie but she was quicker, capturing his hand in hers, holding him there for a moment before snarling at him. In a second, she'd used her grip to flick Nikola over her shoulder, sending him crashing into the wall barely a metre away from the group of on lookers.

"Come on, this is almost too easy," she said gleefully as she turned to face Nikola's crumpled frame. With a growl, he stood up, dusting himself off and straightening his top.

"If you ruin this suit I will kill you," he said menacingly. Rosie scoffed before running directly towards him, arms and claws outstretched, taunting smile in place. Nikola made the same move and their bodies connected with an almighty crunch, Nikola finally finding his upper hand, shoving her to the floor.

"Now we're getting somewhere," she said grinning from where she lay on her back.

Nikola launched himself at her again but Rose rolled out of the way, springing to her feet as she moved. Without so much as a second thought, Rosie swung her leg out, catching Nikola in the gut, forcing the breath from him as he doubled over.

From the sidelines, Helen stood mesmerized. She'd seen them do this dance countless times but they were both extremely skilled when it came to these kinds of fights and it never failed to impress her a little. Rosie's dress spun around her small frame as she landed blow after blow on Nikola, making the fight seem almost choreographed in its fluidity. Helen had to stifle a laugh, only Rosie would try and fight a vampire in such an impractical item of clothing.

A sickening crack bought Helen back to reality as she watched Nikola fall from the beam he had been thrown into on the roof, landing on the cold stone floor in a tangle of inappropriately bent limbs. She knew he was O.K but her heart still somehow ended up in her throat. Slowly, Nikola stood up, his face morphing as his nails grew longer while he reset the bones that had been broken.

"Finally," Rosie said, her delight clear at the newly angular planes of his face.

"Now it's your turn," Nikola growled, his voice as deep and as black as his eyes.

"All in good time," Rosie said serenely before again running straight at Nikola.

"Does she have a suicide wish or something?" Kate muttered quietly from beside Helen as they again collided. Nikola fought to free one of his hands from her grip and slashed downwards, a metallic screech filling the room.

Rosie sprung back with a hiss, her eyes darkening with anger.

"I love this dress," she spat angrily, looking up from the large gashes Nikola had left down the side of her dress. "How is she not bleeding?" Will breathed, his eyes glued to the feuding pair.

"Now is the time to take notes," Rosie advised, flicking her gaze quickly to their audience with a smile for Will. With a shudder, she began to change. Her eyes went white and her teeth grew, not to the length of Nikola's but much, much sharper. With an angry screech, she again threw herself at Nikola and they flew backwards, hitting the wall with such a force that dust fell from the half demolished ceiling. Rosie had a hand wrapped around Nikola's throat, holding him several feet above the ground with his back pinned to the wall. Nikola lashed out, forcing Rosie to drop him the ground.

She took a few steps back, slightly off balance and Nikola darted forwards, wrapping one of his hands around her throat. He held her up in the air with a snarl and jerked his arm, trying to throw her against the wall but Rosie had grabbed his arm and was holding on. With one hand on his wrist and the other against the hand he was holding her with, Rose slowly began to pry away his fingers.

"You're losing your touch, Nikki," she said with a smirk. Realising it was a lost battle, Nikola release his grip but before she landed on the ground, he stretched out, slicing more of her dress apart.

With another hiss, she launched herself at him. Nikola grabbed her arms and rolled her, forcing her to the ground. Lying across her back, Nikola pinned her hands above her head.

"Check mate, dear," he growled in her ear, his voice still vampiric as he grinned triumphantly, glancing over to Helen as if she were his proud mother on the sidelines.

Rosie chuckled.

"1, 2," she counted sweetly. Nikola felt a ripple flow through her body but before he could react, "3," her body spasmed under his. In less than a second, Nikola was thrown up into the air, nothing but a blur of white as an explanation.

Will and Kate both gasped at what had occurred. Rosie was now standing up stretching out her shoulders only now she had two highly muscular wings coming from her back.

"Holy shit," Kate breathed as her eyes widened. The wings were huge, covered in white feathers, coming far above her head and only just avoiding hitting the floor.

"Pegasus," Will whispered in understanding. Helen rolled her eyes.

"Am not," Rose retorted hotly, answering some unsaid phrase, hands on hips. Both Will and Kate looked at Helen for answers.

"I called her a show off," Helen said, answering the unknown question. Kate smirked, turning back to watch the show in front of her.

Nikola had fallen back down to the ground and was hardly moving.

"If you keep this up, Nikki, I'll have to fight you with one hand behind my back," Rosie taunted, straining her shoulders and neck, forcing the wings back into her. As the disappeared into her back, Will understood the scars on her back, now slightly red from the activity. Finally pulling himself up, Nikola growled.

"That was cheating," he said, sounding breathless. With a snort of laughter, Rosie again headed for him, the grin on her face widening as he raised his hands to fight.

True to her word, Rosie fought him with only one hand, throwing punches only slightly quicker than he could block them. Finally picking up some speed, Nikola began to fight back, wrapping his hand around her throat again. With a growl, Rosie grabbed his hair, pulling sharply. With a turn, Nikola slammed their bodies against the wall, pressing himself against her as she growled and squirmed to get away from him.

Helen let out a groan, of course, she thought, knowing Rosie was now too engrossed to be listening in. Where else would this end up?

Nikola grabbed her hands which were trying desperately to claw his eyes out and pinned them above her head against the wall. With her hands out of action, Rosie started to kick out with her legs which were dangling above the floor.

Helen was having trouble looking away.

Nikola leaned further into her, their faces level, only centimetres apart as they continued to growl and snarl at each other.

She knew what was coming and, from experience, Helen knew to look away.

"Come on, we should leave," she said to her team who were avidly watching the scene unfold.

Trying for leverage, Rosie wrapped one leg around Nikola's waist, effectively pulling them closer together.

"Come on," Helen said, hiding her impatience well as her team stood rooted to the spot.

The snarling faded away, replaced by heavy breathing and finally the others began to follow her.

By the time she reached the door, Helen knew without looking back exactly what was going on. As she walked down the corridor, ignoring the questions of her team, a sinking feeling grew in her stomach. She knew it was coming, from the second Nikola found their welcoming party but something about seeing it firsthand gave her the queerest of feelings despite having seen this occur many times. She could faintly hear their occasional snarls floating down the corridor and, as they faded away completely, she knew that the inevitable had occurred.

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><p>As the doors swung shut, Nikola moved further into Rosie, their lips a hair's breadth apart, her hand, now fisted in his hair, pulled him closer. With one final growl, Rosie closed the distance between them, kissing him with passion. Nikola's hands moved greedily over her body, still using his nails to slash through her dress. With a grunt, Rosie shoved him back, allowing herself some space which he quickly took back. Their mouths fought for control, tongues duelling. Raw lust threaded through their bodies and, as fire raced through their veins, they fell to the ground, hands searching for bare skin.<p>

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><p><strong>*ducks to avoid Teslen shippers throwing shoes and other sharp objects*<strong>


	4. Elevator Antics

**Thank you to those who've taken the time to review, really makes me feel better about my crazy OC :P **

**Also, this chapter was originally rated M and while I have edited it enough that I feel comfortable posting it under T, if the last chapter made you want to kill me, this one will probably just further that feeling. Read with caution my pretties... Though I guarantee there's a bit that'll make you chuckle a bit..**

**xx**

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><p>Nikola sat back against the wall of the cathedral well and truly spent. From beside him, he heard muffled giggles, Rose's hand on her mouth to stifle her laugher as she glanced to him, eyes twinkling. Nikola, breathing still heavy joined in with her laughter, his satisfaction lightening his mood significantly. Hell, not two hours ago he was angrily pacing the lab Helen had given him to use, frustrated as anything at the loneliness that had started to encroach on him at the realization that Helen was once more pushing him away.<p>

As their laughter died away, the only sound left in the cavernous room was their breathing, still laboured, panting like dogs despite what was very much enhanced stamina.

Nikola heard Rosie shift next to him but was too tired to move, simply turning his head instead to watch as she struggled to pull herself upright.

"Hi," she said with a grin as she rested against the wall, "I don't think I said that before we... you know..." she trailed off, gesturing between them with a hand.

"No, I don't think you did," Nikola responded with a grin between deep breaths. Rosie let out another snort of laughter and it echoed off the walls around them.

"God, now I remember why I keep coming back to you," she said roughly after another few beats of silence. Nikola smirked at her and opened his mouth but Rosie held up a hand. "Yes, yes, shut up," she said with a grin, acknowledging the innuendo in her last statement. Nikola chuckled but said nothing.

With one last giggle, Rose heaved herself to her feet, stumbling unsteadily for a moment before giving up and sinking back down in front of Nikola with a smile.

"Oh nice work," he said sarcastically, pulling a face.

"Shut up," she responded, using her big toe to poke his leg in retaliation. "My legs won't play nice just yet." Nikola let out another chuckle but was too exhausted to retort.

"Exhausted, huh?" Rosie said, reading his thoughts with a sly grin. This time it was Nikola's turn to retaliate, reaching out and grabbing her arms, dragging her over to his body. Rosie let out a surprised yelp but didn't fight the movement.

They stayed still for a moment, Rose listening smugly to his elevated heart rate. After a second, she turned her head and looked up at him.

"What's wrong?" she asked seeing the confusion on his face.

"Like you don't know," he joked, cocking an eyebrow.

Rosie rolled her eyes before punching him playfully in the arm.

"Tell me," she coaxed with a smile.

"I was just trying to figure out how long it's been since we…" he said, gesturing down to their limp bodies. Rosie paused for a second in thought before cracking a smile.

"Spring of '83," she said proudly. Nikola thought for a second, opened his mouth to contradict her but then closed it.

"I think you're right," he said after a moment, "I found you in Paris, you were in that bar, wearing, oh, the dark blue dress," he continued, getting caught up in the memory.

"And you had just decided to bring the cravat back into style," she added with a chuckle. Nikola smirked at the memory, but said no more. As enjoyable as he'd found the last half hour, he was now coming back to reality and for some reason, he felt guilty. As a man who seldom enjoyed such an emotion it was rather unsettling that he couldn't figure out why he felt that way.

"I know why," Rosie answered quietly as she sat up, eyes sombre. Nikola's eyes widened, he'd forgotten that his thoughts were no longer private. Although he resented the intrusion, he'd learnt long ago that this particular ability wasn't something she could always control. "I'm sorry," she said before letting out a ripe curse. "And I'm sorry for that too," she said with a soft smile.

"Tell me," Nikola said, curious at what she could figure out from one look at his thoughts. Rosie smiled softly before standing up, reaching a hand down to help Nikola up. Too proud to accept the hand, Nikola stood up on his own.

"We should probably leave here soon," Rose said before pulling a face.

"What is it?" Nikola asked as she sighed sadly.

"You've ruined my dress," she responded, irritation faint in her voice.

"I like it better this way," Nikola leered, taking in the damage he'd caused. Her hair was more than a little mussed, falling in untidy waves around her head and, among other new additions to the dress, there was a rather large tear running from the floor to the top of her thigh.

"Oh, because your outfit is _so_ much better," Rosie retorted, hands on hips as she rolled her eyes. Nikola looked down and took stock of what had been a rather dapper suit if he did say so himself. His vest was somewhere but certainly not on him, his shirt ripped open, several of the buttons hanging on by only a thread while the rest of them were nowhere to be seen but worst of all were the gaping holes in both his pants and shirt.

"I think I might require a bath," Rosie said, wrinkling her nose as she pursed her lips and looked herself over.

"Ah, I knew there was a reason I liked you," Nikola said, very pleased she still shared the fastidiousness to her person that he had been ridiculed for. Rosie smiled up at him as she forced many of her own memories into his own head. Nikola groaned and closed his eyes, helpless as she replayed some of their more heated trysts.

"There are many reasons you like me."

"You are the devil," he whispered hoarsely as he felt himself growing hard.

"And I thought that was your role," she whispered back, far closer than he'd thought. Suddenly, he could take it no longer. He opened his eyes and grabbed her forcefully, crushing her lips with renewed fever. His tongue tried to force its way into her mouth but she refused him access which only served to inflame him further. As his kiss deepened, she stepped back, using a strength equalling his to separate them.

She chuckled darkly at the lust burning in Nikola's eyes.

"Shower," she said firmly, turning to where his jacket and cravat lay by the wall. Bending over, she went to pick them up, only to find Nikola's hands closing around her waist, pulling her back to him.

"You are pure evil," he murmured against her neck as his hands began searching the gaps in her dress he'd already created, widening others further.

"You have no idea," she replied, her voice throaty.

Nikola made to turn her around to capture her mouth but she was too fast, dancing away from him with a mischievous gleam in her eye.

"Evil," he muttered as he followed her over to the doors.

"Evil genius," she corrected lightly as he held the door open for her.

"That is debatable," he said, offended by her use of the word. Rosie simply laughed, pressing the button for the elevator. "Where are we going?" he asked as the thick doors slid shut behind them.

"I'm going to my room," she said flippantly, "I have no idea where _you're_ going."

"You have your own room?" he queried, stepping closer to her as she bounced on the balls of her feet.

"I've visited Helen many times, and she set aside a room for me. It was more convenient," she answered, carefully moving away from him.

"I'd love to see it," Nikola answered, capturing her waist in his hands.

Rosie opened her mouth to respond but he was too quick, swooping down to steal a kiss only when he tried to pull away, she grabbed his head, pulling him back to her mouth. There was nothing teasing about this kiss, lips moved harshly as tongues fought and hands rediscovered skin. With one, swift movement, Nikola lifted her up, pushing her back against the wall of the elevator, hands under her ass, hips thrusting against hers as she wrapped her legs around him, forcing her dress up higher than probably appropriate considering the cameras blinking at them. Then again, Rose had seduced him into far more public trysts than this.

Rosie moaned into his mouth at his memories as she tried to pull off the jacket he'd put over this ruined shirt. Obligingly, Nikola leant his upper body back a fraction and threw the jacket into the corner before reclaiming her mouth. He nipped at her lips, then moving down to her throat, gently pulling at the flesh eliciting several gasps from the writhing girl pinned between him and the wall.

"Harder," she moaned, closing her eyes as he obliged. Unable to cause damage, Nikola bit down with as much force as he could muster and she shrieked, rubbing her hips unconsciously against him.

Nikola moved back up to capture her mouth and was taken aback by the force with which she kissed him. His hands started to move downwards, one cradling her to him and the other roughly caressing her. Rosie moaned against his lips, still squirming in his grip as he tried to find purchase through the slippery fabric. Nikola's hand went to her shoulder, completely prepared to undress her when there was a light bing from behind them.

Rosie suddenly stopped moving and her eyes shot open as Henry and Kate walked into the elevator. Nikola stayed still, keeping his face buried in her neck. Henry spluttered.

"I... Oh.. We… Shit... Ahm.. I... Oh... God…"

Kate smiled, rolling her eyes but said nothing. Rosie put a hand on Nikola's shoulder, gently forcing him off her and she slipped down until her feet hit the floor. Nikola stepped back and the silk that had been caught up between them fell to the ground, only just covering her legs. Henry started spluttering again and Nikola spun around.

"Hush now wolf boy, " he said, his voice dark, "And Miss Freelander, that smirk really does not suit you so I suggest you wipe it off your face before I am obliged to do it for you."

Kate glared at him and said nothing.

"Now, Nikki, play nice," Rosie said, sounding like a stern mother, rather than the women he was recently devouring against the wall. Nikola growled at her but said nothing.

The elevator was silent for a moment before Rosie let out a laugh.

"Quite right, Kate," she praised with a twinkle in her eye. Kate stood dumbfounded for a second before everything clicked into place and she smiled back at Rosie who was still laughing lightly.

"What did she say?" Nikola asked, his voice dangerous. Rosie smirked and said nothing, watching instead as the numbers clicked by on the display.

"Tell me."

Rosie chuckled and looked over at Kate who nodded before smirking.

"She said you were, what was it again… whipped?" she asked, looking back over at Kate innocently. Nikola snarled and his eyes grew dark but Rosie put a restraining hand on his arm, looking him in the eye sternly. He returned to normal but kept one eye on Kate, looking for all the world as if he'd like nothing more than to murder her.

They were silent again until the doors parted and Kate and Henry walked out, Kate fighting the urge to giggle and Henry blushing furiously.

"Tell Helen I'll be down in 10," Rosie called out to their retreating backs as the door slid shut with a clang.

"10 minutes is hardly enough time," Nikola purred, cornering her.

"It is ample time for me to shower and change," she clarified, restraining his advances with one hand. As the doors slid open again, Rosie pushed past him without so much as a word, leaving a rather stunned Nikola in the elevator, unsure of what to do next.


	5. Explanations and Reputations

**Here we are again, another Sunday, another chapter. No nookie in this one though. Mention of previous nookie but other than that y'all are safe :P**

**Thank you to the few people who are taking the time to review this, cyber love for all of you for making me all warm and gooey!**

**Also, if you haven't done so already, I'd recommend checking out my fic 'El Tango de Nubina' if only because a signed review means a $2 donation to Sanctuary4Kids :P (more details on my profile)**

**xx**

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><p>"He had her pinned against the wall and they were full on making out," Kate recited with fever for Will, who stared at her disbelieving.<p>

"I had hoped they'd be able to contain themselves," Helen muttered from her place by the window, causing her team to spin around and look at her in shock.

"You knew this would happen?" Kate asked incredulously.

"My reputation precedes me," Nikola said, sauntering into the room without bothering to knock, looking impeccable in a fresh suit.

"I hope the damage you two caused was not too severe this time," Helen asked, not turning to face him. At the tone of her voice, something in Nikola deflated and that pit of anxiety in his stomach opened up again.

"We may have shattered your team's innocence, but everything of value remains intact," he responded coolly, sitting down and glaring at each of the now flustered children.

They were silent for a moment, Nikola and Helen caught up in their inner turmoil, Will, Henry and Kate resisting the urge to ask all the questions that were springing to mind. Just in the nick of time, there was a discreet knock at the door.

"Come in," Helen called, finally turning around.

Slowly. Rosie pushed open the door, peaking around with a rather timid smile.

"Sorry I'm late," she said, coming further into the room, "It seems half the clothes I had here have disappeared." With a smile, she sat down on the sofa, carefully tucked into the opposite end to Nikola and everyone was glad to see she had changed out of the ruined white dress and into a pair of tailored pants and a simple button down top.

"I am sorry for my previous behaviour," she said, looking at Kate with a smile, "I promise you it was quite out of character."

"Nonsense," Helen said with a teasing smile as she sat down in the chair opposite her old friend. Taking that as their cue, Henry, Kate and Will all took a seat, Kate being the only one brave enough to sit in the large gap between Nikola and Rosie. There was a beat of silence before Kate opened her mouth.

"How do you do that mind reading thing?" she blurted out. Nikola rolled his eyes and opened his mouth for some witty retort but Rosie beat him to it.

"I'm not entirely sure," she answered with a smile, "I can't always control it unless I'm focused on doing so."

"My offer still stands," Helen said, seemingly out of the blue.

"And my objections too," Rosie answered with a soft smile.

"Dude, you've got to stop doing that, it's way too confusing," Henry said, shaking his head.

"Helen has offered many times to run tests to see how I do what I do but I have declined previously and I will do so again tonight," she answered, her voice clear and crisp with a cadence that could only be picked up in previous centuries.

"Why?" Will asked, puzzled, he was yet to meet an abnormal who didn't want to know how their powers work.

"Rule number one is never write anything down," Rosie responded with a smile. "Once something is on paper, it can become the property of nearly anyone. And that is something I'd like to avoid at all costs."

"But I mean, how does it work? Can you read anyone's mind? Do they have to be close by? Do you hear like one voice at a time or everyone all at once?" Kate asked, still confused. Rosie laughed, as did Helen.

"Distance simply requires a bit more concentration and it's more that if I focus on someone, I can pick up the tenor of their mind and follow it. My abilities are more centred around manipulating psychic energies. I can send and receive the energies, but none of it is an exact science."

"So, you can read minds?" Kate clarified.

Rosie laughed, "Well, part of your mind is feeling guilty because you're fairly certain you stole my clothes, Will is wondering if he needs to tell… Abby, is it? About the fact that I kissed him, something for which I cannot apologise enough, Henry is still feeling embarrassed about what happened in the elevator, Nikola…" she paused before smirking at whatever she had heard," and Helen is… Oh. I'm sorry, love," she finished, her voice filled with concern.

Everyone turned to look at Helen who smiled lightly at Rosie.

"What do you mean send?" Will asked, breaking the tension. There was a brief pause before he let out a gasp, eyes widening.

"What? What was it?" Kate asked, looking worried.

"I answered his question," she responded with a grin before doing the same for Kate.

_Only a little more quietly. Understand?_

"I can hear you," Will said, eyes wide with wonder.

"And while it is a very useful trait, I can't help but think you are showing off," Nikola said, finally speaking up. Rosie narrowed her eyes at him and there was a brief pause before he let out a soft gasp followed by some uncomfortable squirming in his seat.

"Really," Helen interjected, breaking Rosie's concentration. Rosie turned to look at her old friend for a moment before sighing and relinquishing whatever hold she had over Nikola.

"What was that?" Kate asked.

"Memories," Rosie answered dismissively but she was unable to keep the smirk off her face. There was an uncomfortable pause as everyone contemplated what she meant, Nikola's alleviating any doubts.

Rosie said nothing and neatly folded her hands in her lap. Will watched her for a second, noting her posture and the way she spoke before leaning forwards to speak to her.

"How did you and Magnus meet?" he asked, shying away from asking her directly how old she was.

"I met Helen shortly after she…" Rosie paused, sending a dark look in Helen's direction, "injected herself with that poisonous blood."

"She knocked on the front door and when we answered, there she was, an evangelical bitch hell bent on destroying us," Nikola supplied with a grin.

"It wasn't quite that bad," Rosie said, throwing him a glare. "I was… a little_ upset_ but 'evangelical bitch' is rather inflammatory. Plus I didn't knock on your door."

"I'd have to agree, Nikola," Helen said sternly. Rosie threw her a grateful smile before continuing.

"But once that little misunderstanding was all cleared up, the six of us got on like a house on fire," Rosie concluded. "And I was so sorry to hear about James," she added, looking at Helen sadly.

"He is missed," Helen said by way of response. The two women sat looking at each other for a moment before Will opened his mouth again.

"What do you mean by 'misunderstanding'?"

Helen and Rose shared a bemused glance. "You were wondering before about my age Will and, while I'm not entirely sure, I'd guess I was born maybe fifty years before the fall of Rome. I only know for a fact that I was the last of my race that was... I suppose created is the right word."

"But that means you're... what, 1600 years old!" Will exclaimed, spluttering. Rose smiled tightly at him and made a face.

"Sort of," she said with a pained look. "It's ah... _complicated._"

"How can you sort of be 1600 years old?" Kate asked sceptically.

Rose shrugged noncommittally. "I had a bit of a nap."

Will and Kate shared sceptical looks but, before they could speak again, Rose held up a hand.

"Another time perhaps," she insisted with a small smile before continuing with her story. "My race was born to protect the balance between the humans and Sanguine Vampiris," she continued, clearing her throat in an attempt to subvert attention from her rather impressive age. "I mean, my memory is rather sketchy in parts but I do remember the fall of the vampires quite clearly and I know I was at still very young at the time," she said, just a little pride infecting her voice.

"And what a fantastic job you did at maintaining the balance," Nikola muttered, picking some invisible lint off his suit.

"It was a difficult decision, one that I don't think you would have made any differently," Rose said stoically, an old pain etched across her face.

"So you're… well, really old," Kate interjected after a moment, obviously still stuck on the issue.

Rosie chuckled, "If you all think Helen is old, I would be bordering on, what? My third reincarnation," she laughed. "Have no fear, Helen, you don't look a day over 200," she added with a mischievous grin.

"Why you…" Helen said, incredulous as she picked up a throw pillow and lobbed it at Rosie.

"And you told me not to wreck anything," she muttered, throwing the cushion back.

"But you look to be what, 20, 21?" Will guessed, intrigued.

"I suppose I would have been maybe 25 when the transformation took place," she said, making a face. "From what I understand of it, almost everyone has an ability within them to become what I am, with _certain_ variations but there is a kick start required to initiate the process. My genetic makeup barely differs from any of yours. The trait, it seems is dying out but it is in my DNA and I'd guess in at least one of you," she finished, sweeping her eyes around the group, eyes landing on Helen as she quirked her head, brows knitting together as she contemplated something although, considering the look of befuddlement on Helen's face, it seemed she wasn't in on it.

"But that still doesn't explain how you met Magnus," Will continued.

"It's easier if I show you," she said, shrugging her shoulders. Will and Kate shared a worried glance and Rosie chuckled softly, rolling her eyes. "It's like a memory. It won't hurt or anything, I promise. Just close your eyes."

When nobody complied, Rosie let out a heavy sigh.

"Please?" she asked softly, her eyes growing wide and dewy as she smiled softly at everyone. Succumbing to the best puppy dog eyes in the history of guilt trips, everyone except Helen and Nikola closed their eyes. Shooting them both an angry glare, Rosie closed her eyes and exhaled.

_Your hand is raised. You're torn. Should you knock as these pesky humans believed to be polite or simply destroy the door? You can't decide and spend a few seconds weighing up the pros and cons of both options. Eventually you decide to take the path that is less likely to get you shot. Not that it could actually kill you but these new fangled projectile weapons did sting like nothing else. _

_You knock three times, loud and clear. Then you wait. It seems to take an eternity for the door to open and you're beginning to regret giving up your element of surprise and bowing to their pointless rules. You shuffle uncomfortable in the dress you wear. It's large and cumbersome but you're fairly sure the outer layers will come away without much hassle when it comes time to rip these vampires limb from delicious limb. _

_You're starting to wonder if 1, they heard you or 2, they've got some kind of detection system in place that means they know who you are and what is about to befall them. They are vampires, you wouldn't put it past them. But then the door swings open, an old maid looking at you questioningly. Perhaps you should have worn the over coat, you wonder. Standing in the snow in a simple dress maybe wasn't the best way to keep a low profile but as the scents of the house overcome you, you no longer care. Your entire body is shaking with rage for these people, they must die and you will do everything in your power to make it as painful as possible. You raise your eyes to the elderly woman in the doorway and she falls to the ground, asleep in an instant. _

_You step over her body and shut the door behind you. The room is warm but this recognition is secondary, the smell of the blood is even stronger now you're in the house. They are going to die. They are going to die. They are going to die. They are going to die. They are going to die._


	6. First Impressions Sometimes Last

**This chapter is huge and I did try to break it up but I couldn't find a way to do so without destroying the flow of it so I apologise. I might leave the posting of the next chapter for a bit longer because of said length... We'll see how I go with the next few chapters of the sequel.**

**I actually quite like this chapter, it's a point of view I've never experimented with before but it seemed to fit for this particular section for me. Because it's kinda new to me, I'd love some feedback :) Who knows maybe I'll try it again one day...**

**xx**

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><p><em>Your mind is swimming with the images of broken corpses from the past as well as the ones you are about to create. You can see the piles of humans, stacked haphazardly in the dank cells, their naked bodies bruised and mutilated beyond recognition. Then there are those who were left alive, on the precipice of death, so close that the stench of it clung to their naked bodies. They were left to rot with the dead corpses, there was always the smell of human excrement mixed with desperation and fear that you will never ever forget. Some of the living, desperate for sustenance, ate what was left of the dead, stripping away the flesh as tears streaked their faces. The longer they were there, the fewer their tears became, their will to survive stronger than any attachment to other humans. Some tried to starve themselves, refusing every form of sustenance in the hope that they would die before their captors came for them a third time. That was the lifespan of a human in these places. The strongest only survived three feedings. Then they were discarded or tossed to the masses as playthings, alive or dead, it did not matter.<em>

_You will take revenge for these people. You will make the kin of their captors know nothing but pain as they beg for the release of death. Their blood will run. You want to drink it but your mind is too full of what-if's to let you off so easily. As you wander through the lower rooms of this lush townhouse, part of your mind wonders how they managed to keep themselves hidden for all these years. You've spent centuries walking the earth night and day for this very purpose. You acknowledge that for the first few centuries that had been you goal but in recent years you were searching for a way to die, a way to join you sisters. Your proud and beautiful sisters. _

_Your mind snaps back to the task at hand as you think of you four sisters so cruelly killed by the blood relation of those who now inhabit this house. Your pace quickens as you follow your nose, your feet carrying you soundlessly through this great house. You can no longer see, your rage is that great. Everything is a blur, the only fixed point in your life is that vile scent that draws you up the stairs that are at the back of the house. _

_You can feel that it's cooler here. The air would send chills up the spine of anyone else, even you if you weren't ready to burst with vengeful anger. If you were heavier with your footsteps maybe they would hear you on the creaky stairs but you ghost up the stairs, hands bunching in the black velvet of your skirts. You feel a growl building in the back of your throat but you will not allow yourself that release. Not yet, anyway. They may have super powers but yours are greater. In so many ways are you a superior killing machine but if they are given a chance to mount a defence then they might actually be able to stop you. That's only if they have the knowledge of their forefathers. You hope, being so newly created that they will not be._

_You are briefly troubled by the thought that perhaps they have found a way to create new vampires rather than using the normal methods of creation but if you can kill these, you can kill more. You have to stifle a sigh, yet another reason against suicide. _

_You pause, you can hear them now, their voices low as the whisper desperately to each other. You let a twisted smile grace you mouth. They don't know you are here. The scent of their blood is even stronger now, the repugnant smell is invading every one of your senses. They smell of filth, of death, of rotting corpses filled with maggots that writhe under a midday sun. They do not carry the stench of humanity, rather that of death and suffering. The smell makes you think of your sisters as they screamed, the filth filling them from the inside, burning them until they could do nothing but collapse, their bodies turning to ash before your eyes._

_That growl slips out and you hear their voices stop on the other side of the door. You do not care. They will die now. The door swings open easily, exposing four shocked faces to your angry gaze. You sweep into the room and send them all backwards, pinning them to the walls with your eyes. They let out startled screams as pressure clamps around their necks and they begin to scramble for freedom that you will never grant. You let your transformation overwhelm you, your teeth becoming sharp enough to pierce their alabaster skin, you eyes turning whiter than the purest snow and your wings tear through the layer of your clothing until you stand before them in your torn dress, exposing your thin undergarments to them. _

"_You will die," you say coldly, resorting to your own language when their own fails you. "I shall make you suffer the agony you inflicted on others. You will never be allowed to kill in the way you did before. Tonight will Sanguine Vampiris end," you finish, wondering if they know what your are saying. You don't care. You let out a high pitched wail before turning to face the one closest to you. She is blonde, her innocent blue eyes juxtaposing the severity of her crimes in a way that makes you angrier. Tears begin to cloud your vision before spilling red and hot down your cheeks. _

_You raise a hand to her head and grab on tightly to the blonde stands, pulling her from the wall. You drag her, kicking and screaming to the middle of the room. You let the images of her crimes flood not only her mind but that of everyone in the room. They all gasp and stop struggling for a second. This gives you pause, they should know what they have done. But then you see the images too and your heart is beating faster. You briefly search each of their minds, pleased with your choice for the first victim. They all seem particularly attached to this one._

_You let out a cry of vengeance before raising you free hand to your mouth. You let the sharp points of your teeth cut through your skin and the blood is coursing down your arm, dripping onto the floor. You shiver at the cool liquid, somehow much cooler than your skin but then you hear a call._

"_NO!" a voice shouts. You let out a hiss as you look up towards the noise. The tall one seems frightened, which is strange considering the tenor of his mind. You brush away the thought and make the effort to speak in his own tongue to ensure he hears every word you say._

"_She will die first. She will die for the crimes you have all committed. You will watch her die. She will swallow my essence and you will watch her burn up from the inside."_

"_NO!" he yells again. You growl at his insolence. His long brown hair is shading his eyes but you can see the desperation there. "Take me instead," he pleads. Your wings ripple with his words. _

"_No, John, don't," comes the response from the blonde. She has stopped fighting but still shakes in your grasp. You tug roughly at her hair and she stumbles, falling to her knees. _

"_You will all die," you say, enunciating every word so they can understand you through your thick accent. You raise your hand again and they all scream out for you to stop. With an evil smile you look down at the fearful blonde. She is staring at you, a plea in her eyes but they do not water. You realise she is not fighting. Your grip on her hair loosens and you know she can feel it but she doesn't pull away. Her lip is trembling and your entire body convulses. You step back suddenly as if you have been burned. _

_You are torn, half your body is ready to attack, to tear these monsters apart as a message to any others who may come along but you feel the need to understand and eventually, that desire wins out. _

_Frantically you search the blonde's memories. You take several steps backwards until you can feel you wings pushing against the wall. They are not… They are different… They… You are so shocked you can't think properly, you mind jumps from idea to idea to idea and you scream as you take in the blonde's shaking form. You propel the woman away from you as you sink into the nearest corner but you are careful to use only the amount of force strictly necessary. _

"_Abominations," you whisper accusingly as you clutch you legs to you, as if it will protect you from the disease these foolish children have burdened themselves and now you with. They are all sliding down the walls now, your grip on them diminishing as fear streaks through you. You finally understand how those people in the cells felt. You take in these people properly for the first time. Aside from the blonde, there is no other female in the room. Then there is the tall thin man who is crawling over to the woman, his hair shielding his eyes from your own probing gaze. There is a shorter man, he is rounder too and he looks the most shocked at your presence. He stares at you without fear but you can sense his apprehension without probing his mind. The woman and the man, now huddled in a corner are watching you cautiously. He looks at you with a dangerous glare and, despite the fact you could kill him without lifting a finger, you fear him. The woman looks frightened yes but there is curiosity in her gaze too, her eyes are kind as they assess your trembling figure. _

_Then a smell fills your nose. The last man smells different to the rest of them, the scent of vampire coming more strongly from him. You turn you head abruptly to find his cold grey blue eyes staring into yours. His face is blank as he watches you. Focusing on his face, you feel yourself calm down enough to reverse the process of your transformation. You wince internally as your wings retract. It hurts and it's a pain you've never gotten used to. Soon enough you are curled in the corner, looking far more human than they believe possible. They all thought you were… You search their collective minds for a word. _

_Evangelical. _

_Dangerous._

_Beast. _

_Abnormal._

_You like that last one the most even though you don't really know what it means. It is thought with less venom than the others. The first one makes you want to laugh and you probably would if this situation wasn't absolutely terrifying, the way the man thinks it is not angry, more… you have to search his mind for the word. He's peeved. Not that he thinks it in a language you speak but you think if you pay enough attention, you could probably learn it from him. He is still staring at you, his steely gaze locked on yours. Your breath is haggard and you struggle against the conflicting emotions but his gaze keeps you calm. _

_You hear shuffling from across the room and flick your eyes to the source of the noise. The blonde woman is wiggling out of the tall man's grasp, her eyes locked on you. She freezes when she sees you watching her, her eyes widening. You hold perfectly still, trying not to startle her. A few tense moments pass as you feel around her mind. She narrows her eyes at the intrusion and you're surprised she can feel it, normally you are able to pry without fear of consequences. Objections only arise when you look into the minds of your now long dead sisters. The thought of your sisters makes you shudder slightly, reminding you of why you are here._

"_Helen," comes the whisper from the man closest to you and you are distracted by his curiosity, it blunts the force of your anger. His eyes are kind as they look at you and you find yourself glad he's here, even if his transformation was worse than the others. You realise pretty quickly that he is in fact a blood relative of those you seek to destroy but your curiosity at the conundrum he presents is waring with your urge to kill. _

"_Helen, I think you should come closer," he says, his eyes never leaving yours. His accent is thick and you recognize it does not come from this place. He too is foreign to this world. This makes you marginally less inclined to kill him. _

"_Are you mad Nikola?" the tall one hisses in response. You watch him for a moment, noting the deep fear in his eyes which almost makes you laugh. Of anyone in this room to be afraid of, you are not the first pick. _

"_Helen, please," the accented one, Nikola, calls out softly. You turn your head so you can watch him as he regards you. He was only a few metres away from you to begin with but now he is sidling closer to you. You know the curiosity in his eyes is reflected in yours and you are tempted to move closer to him. You fight the urge though, keeping your body as still as you can. _

_You can hear more noise and know, without looking that the blonde one, Helen, is moving closer to you. Slowly you turn your head and watch as she approaches you on hands and knees. Just over her shoulder you can see the tall one… John, you decide when searching the blonde's mind. He looks fearful and torn, unable to decide whether to attack you or run before you attack him. Again you feel like laughing at the idiocy of the situation. You can feel the shaking return to your limbs as they both get closer. The instinctual part of your mind that only a few minutes ago was in control wants you to run but you won't, you know they cannot hurt you. They may not be vampires but there is enough blood in their bodies for your abilities to protect you._

"_Helen," whispers the other man. "What are you doing?"_

"_Quiet Nigel," she says softly, her eyes never leaving yours. Her voice is steady and you wonder why she is so curious of you. The few humans that have witnessed your transformation were terrified, convinced your appearance was a message from Satan. But not this strange woman or the stranger man. Helen and Nikola. Their names resonate in your mind and you can't help but like it. It has been so long since you have met people like you, people who are different, not quite as human as the rest of the world. _

"_Helen." Her name slips off your tongue with a practiced ease. She stills momentarily, her eyes widening at your low whisper but then she smiles tentatively at you. You turn your head more sharply than you realise to look at the man. _

"_Nikola." Your voice is stronger now, his name coming out a little louder._

"_Yes," the woman says kindly. She is now kneeling in front of you. Close enough to provide comfort these humans love to give but not so close that you feel crowded. "I am Helen." Her words are slow and enunciated as if she fears you will not understand."Do you have a name?"_

"_Akrin'tanki," you answer solemnly, eyes wide. She smiles at you and you can hear her trying to process it internally. "Josephine," you say, taking pity on her. _

"_No," she says gently. "I am Helen."_

"_I know that." Your reply is sharper than you intend but when you hear a chuckle from beside you, you cease to worry that you have offended them. You've been aware this whole time of this man's mind. He has been watching you carefully, scared for his friends safety but he also seems to think you are alike. You want to smile at his foolish and incorrect assumption. This man has evil running through his veins. Nikola, you try and correct, hoping that by giving him a name, you will want to kill him less. You aren't sure why you want to not want to kill him though. _

"_You can speak?" Helen asks gently._

"_Yes."_

_There is a pause and you uncurl your legs so they tuck under you. This way you can watch them better. You notice the round one, Nigel appraising your body as you move and you can't help but let your gaze follow the same path on his body. You smile fleetingly before turning back to face Helen. She is gazing at your body apprehensively and for the first time you realise the mess you've made of your dress. The skirt is mostly alright but with a few splashes of rapidly drying blood crusting on it. Your bodice, on the other hand, is a lost cause. The velvet is slashed and hanging pitifully off your body, exposing your corset and thin cotton chemise, or what is left of it anyway. You can feel the cool air soothing the angry marks on your back and you realise that your outfit is hanging together by a thread. You wrap your arms around your chest in a vain attempt to keep as much of your pale skin hidden as possible._

"_Josephine," you say again, "is the name my maid gave me." You work hard to keep your accent clear so they can understand you. It's difficult with all the rage coursing through your body but you're fairly certain you've succeeded. _

"_It doesn't suit you." The voice is quiet and you are slightly startled by his words but as you turn to look at Nikola you smile. You cock your head to the side and ask him why in the most natural means possible. He gasps and flinches as at the words. You realise your mistake and shrink away from him. _

"_What? What is it?" Helen asks hurriedly and you notice the concern she has for her friend surpasses that she feels for the other males in the room._

"_I can hear her," Nikola whispers, his eyes wide in astonishment. You breathe a sigh of relief when you realise that he isn't afraid of you. You hadn't meant to speak to him like that but after all these years of letting you abilities go unchecked you forgot that your words were not said for everyone to hear._

"_What do you mean?" Helen asks, her voice still tinged with worry. You flick your eyes back to hers and answer her. She gasps as your voice fills her ears. She opens her mouth as if to ask a question but then the door swings open and a man hurries in, carrying a gun. His eyes frantically sweep the room before settling on you. You freeze as you take in this new man, searching the minds of those around you for some reason he is here. The tall one, John, is glad the other man is here. He thinks that the two of them could subdue you. The round one is still in shock which is only increased by the appearance of their friend. Friend, you muse. This new man is no enemy to them. You can smell the filthy blood in his body too but his eyes are kind as he assess how close you are to Helen and Nikola. His eyes are clever and you can't help but drink him in as he does the same to you._

_After a few more moments of searching, you find his name._

"_James," you say softly and he looks startled. _

"_Who is this?" he asks. Anyone else would make the words accusing but not him, he asks softly, his voice laced with blatant curiosity._

_Helen opens her mouth to try and use your real name but then closes it before shooting you a look you cannot decipher. _

"_Josephine."_

_James crouches down next to Helen and you can see his mind trying to piece together what has occurred here. He may not be looking at them, but his mind is trying to comprehend why the others are so far away from you. Cautiously and skimming over some of the details, you show him exactly what happened. He tenses, gasps and then, mouth hanging open, falls back a little. You feel a twinge of guilt but this is what he wanted. Helen, forgetting you, turns to her friend and wraps her arms around his shoulders._

"_James!" she calls frantically. He has stopped shaking but his eyes are still unfocused as he relives the memories you are giving him. _

"_STOP!" yells the tall one, coming to stand above you. His figure is imposing and you assume that a human would be frightened of him. But not you. Slowly your raise your eyes from James to look at him. Part of your mind is still showing James what he missed but the rest of it has enough firepower to deal with this man._

_Slowly, so as not to startle him, you push him backwards, feet half sliding along the floor boards until he is standing on the other side of the room. His eyes widen and he looks furious but you let him go, refusing to restrain him more than necessary. The moment he realises this, he starts walking towards you again, anger boiling up inside him. Again you make him walk backwards, not looking at him as you watch James's figure. He comes for you a third time and, with a sigh, you turn to face him._

"_Stop," you say, echoing his words. Nikola, who has been watching your exchange with fascination smiles in a twisted way at your tone. You look away from the tall one as you pin him to the wall without a second thought. _

_Finally James lets out a gasp and you smile softly at him. Helen helps him sit up and he stares at you in wonder._

"_Yes." You make sure to answer his question out loud but forget he hadn't asked it that way. He looks confused for a moment before his entire body relaxes. _

_A strangled noise comes from across the room and you remember you have John pinned against the wall. You release him and he falls to the ground next to Nigel. _

"_He is fine," you say to Helen who is looking between John and James. "You have my word."_

_She looks at you, shocked and confused but her questions go unasked as John gets to his feet and starts to stride towards you. _

_You stand so quickly that the others gasp in fright and John stops dead. You close the distance between the two of you in three steps._

"_Do not try and hurt me Mr. Druitt." Your voice is cold and thick as you feel rage build in your chest. "You will not succeed and I will take your life as payment for the disturbance." He seems taken aback at the image you present. Your breathing is heavy as you contain your inexplicable anger at this man, struggling to stay human and not kill him. _

"_Please don't hurt him," comes Helen's voice from behind you. You spin on your heel and pose a question to her. _

"_He is my fiancé," she answers. Unsatisfied with her answer, you cock your head at her._

_She uses her mind to answer you and you can feel her excitement at her ability to do so. You smile softly at the pleasure this gives her, ignoring the anger radiating from the man behind you. You are holding him back effortlessly, barely paying him any attention as you take in the enraptured blonde before you. Her smile is wide and her eyes twinkle at this connection between the two of you. You see the flicker of fear in her eyes and drop your hold on the tall one. _

_Amazingly he advances towards you again. You roll your eyes before spinning around to face him again. This time you do not stop him until he is centimetres from you, bending over in an attempt to intimidate you. You stand your ground as you watch him. He is growling and you can see the anger in his mind but whatever blackness tinges this man's heart, you almost don't care. There are more pressing issues. You turn away from him and feel his anger grow. With a sigh, you release him from your mental hold and he swipes at you with one hand. He almost connects with the side of your head but you remain stiff, his arm flying back as you keep yourself from harm. He cries out it pain and you turn your head to look at him. He is hunched over, near the wall, glaring at you. With another angry curse, he launches himself at you again, fists flying as he tries to land a blow. You stand impassive as his hands land around you. You let yourself relax, glad for the confirmation of what you already suspected. He cannot hurt you. None of them can._

"_Stop, John, please stop," Helen calls, coming to her feet. She is heading towards you but you cannot let his bouncing blows land on this innocent woman. Not that she is particularly innocent in far too many ways but she does not deserve any more physical pain than that you already inflicted. _

"_Stay back," you instruct calmly and you are pleased to see her stop in her tracks. John, now realising the futility of his actions, is stepping away from you, looking horrified. Slowly, you walk towards him and you can see the fear multiply. Fighting each of the instincts that tell you to kill him, you reach out a hand to touch his face. He continues to back away until he hits the wall. Before he can scramble away, you cup his cheek._

"_I will not hurt you," you say softly and he seems reassured by your voice. You begin to smile at him but then your vision clouds with the familiar haze that always pre-empts a vision. _

_John is bald now, wearing clothes that do not come from this time. His face is still scarred but his eyes show a darkness the man in front of you is yet to embrace fully. He is clutching a knife, dripping with blood and, as your vision returns to normal, you know what is going to happen. You just know._

_With a hiss you shrink back, withdrawing your hand quickly. You feet are carrying you backwards with alarming speed and you can feel your wings begin to break through the newly healed skin on you back but you are so frightened that the sharp pain this brings doesn't register. The only thing that does is the warm arms that land around your waist, pulling you into a corner of the room. Part of your mind rebels against these arms and the overwhelming smell of vampire that accompanies them but the care with which you are held makes your body flood with a feeling you have never felt before. _

_You know bright red tears are streaking down your face but as you stare at the bewildered man opposite you, that is the least of your worries. You are shaking now and feel slightly relieved at that. You almost always shiver after these visions and, as you begin to sink to the floor, your strength momentarily sapped, you are pleased that those warm arms are still holding you tight. _

"_Akrin'tanki."_

_He butchers your name with his rough accent but you turn in his arms and attempt a smile for Nikola's efforts. He smiles back but you can still see the confusion in his eyes._

"_Are you alright?" Helen's voice interrupts your moment of eye contact and you turn to give her a small smile. Pretending that John isn't still in the room, you focus on withdrawing your wings. After all the exertion of the evening, you are unable to halt the tiny moan of pain as the great muscled structures curl in amongst your body. When you are finally yourself again, you let out a sigh and lean further into Nikola's embrace. His arms tighten around you and though you know you should be disgusted, you really aren't. _

_Few words are exchanged but Helen quickly convinces you to stand and leave the room. She and Nikola try to carry you but you are stronger than that. You fight off their helping hands before gesturing at Helen to lead the way. You can feel Nikola's presence behind you and you can hear John and Nigel whispering but you ignore their fear and their uncertainty, instead focusing on the positivity of the other three. You can feel their curiosity at what you are and while you could probably answer all their questions in the blink of an eye, you restrain yourself. They lead you back down to the warmth of the rest of the house. Briefly you wonder why the room they were in was so bare when the rest of the house is so plushly appointed. You pass through the foyer and Helen lets out a gasp as she takes in the sleeping form of the maid who let you in._

"_She is fine." Helen turns at your words, still not understanding. You close your eyes briefly and awaken the woman. She stirs and Helen turns back to her, helping the elderly woman to her feet. You make sure to keep yourself hidden behind the large frame of James but you are fairly sure she recognizes you. You are impressed though, that she doesn't bat an eye but then again, after the things you've seen in Helen's mind there is no reason she should be alarmed by someone as innocent looking as you. You offer her a tentative smile and receive a curt nod in response. Helen hesitates, looking between you and the elderly woman who is still leaning against her for support._

"_We'll be fine, tend to her," James says before you have a chance to reassure her. You look up at him curiously and you can sense he is aware of your gaze but he does not move. Helen nods and then looks directly at you. _

"_I'll be right in," she says slowly. You can tell she is enunciating to make sure you understand her. You can't stop yourself rolling your eyes at her attitude but she doesn't see it and soon enough James and Nikola are gently pulling you towards a sitting room you passed on your way in. They seat you on the largest sofa, near the fireplace and then step back, apparently at a loss as to what to do. You remind yourself to sit up straight, the way all the ladies do and they looks at you strangely. Their eyes assess your body and then you remember to look down at your clothes. Your skirt has a few more tears than before and you chemise and corset are hanging on by a thread as your rather meagre chest threatens to spill over. You raise a hand and tug at the remaining sleeve, trying for some of that modesty these English praise so highly. You have no problem with your state of dress, in fact you'd rather divulge yourself of the skirt entirely, its weight is cumbersome and the layers make you feel stifled._

_Acting without thought, you stand up, extend one nail and reach behind you to slice the remaining ties of your dress. It's an older style, one from a previous generation but fashion had never been your forte. The velvet falls to the ground with a soft thump and you are left standing in you petticoats. You think about removing these too but as you eye your rather perturbed audience, you decide against it, instead settling back down. It may not be much but at least your legs are a little more free. This urge to be unencumbered always follows your visions, they make your skin crawl and you want to be stripped to your skin so that you can claw at yourself and make the feelings go away._

_You look up at the confused men and try to smile kindly at them._

"_Sit," you say softly. They share a look before finding seats. James sits across from you but Nikola seems comfortable enough to take a seat at the other end of the sofa you sit at. You smile at each of them again before filtering through their minds for the answers you seek. Neither gasp at the intrusion as Helen did and you sit in perfect silence as you learn about what made them become these abominations. You flick through their memories, comparing them to each other and that of Helen's. They all tell the same story but with different levels of detail. James is exact in his thoughts, noting objectively but with an emotional tinge that colours his fear for Helen. Nikola, on the other hand, has memories based almost entirely on emotion. You wince as you feel his pain, his transformation was almost as complete as yours. He is indeed a completely different man. You move further through his memories, astonished at the level of fear he felt for the others, particularly Helen. You shoot him a look as you try to decipher his tumultuous emotions. He is staring at you with an intensity that you know mirrors your own. _


	7. Renaming the Beast

**Thanks for the advice re: the previous chapter guys, concrit is actually wonderful to receive :) Hopefully shoes aren't thrown at me for this chapter, I promise the much needed explanation comes in the very next chapter. This is just a very basic introduction to how Rose feels about Nikola. That and I like to make John cower in fear. **

**Reviews are sustenance for my diet-starved tummy :P **

**xx**

* * *

><p><em>You are about to start digging deeper when whispers from the other side of the door catch your attention. <em>

"_You can't be serious Helen, that monster could have killed us all. We need to find a way to kill it and quickly before it figures out what we're doing." You let a low growl slip out as you hear John's words. Both Nikola and James follow your eyes which are now trained on the door. James cannot hear the whispers but you don't care how strange you behaviour seems. You hear a growl from beside you and feel a bolt of pleasure that the vampire next to you is just as upset at John's plans as you are. You stiffen and are about to set the foolish man straight but then Helen's voice floats through the door._

"_Don't be stupid John, first of all, her name is Josephine and she is no threat. Besides that, she can probably hear you through this door. And if not, she can probably hear your thoughts." _

_Her words are harsh and direct and you feel a strange affection for the blonde. Considering you did try and kill her, it's a little surprising that she doesn't share the sentiments of her fiancé._

"_I think Helen's right, John," Nigel says softly. "I mean, she's dangerous yeah, but I don't think she's a threat to us. If she wanted to kill us, she'd have already done it. I mean, it wasn't like we put up much of a fight."_

_You can hear John thinking this over and you are glad when he decides to trust his friends. You don't particularly want to kill him. The door swings open just as Nikola shifts to sit closer to you. You can feel him staring John down and you smile softly. His concern is sweet but completely unnecessary. _

"_You friends are right. If I wanted to kill you, John, I would have done so already."_

_Your voice is soft and even but he tenses at your words. Helen turns to you with a kind smile. She eyes the pile of clothes at your feet before turning once more from the room. Everyone is watching you and you watch them in turn. James is curious, wondering why you are here and why you haven't killed them yet. Nigel is puzzled but rather at ease with the situation. You give him a tentative smile in the hopes that he will return the gesture. He does and you smile a little wider. John is standing in the corner, hunched over in the shadows as he glares at you. You don't need to hear his thoughts to know he is afraid. _

_Then there is Nikola. He is sitting so close to you that you can feel the warmth of his skin through the fine layers you wear. He is sitting at an angle so that he almost hovers over you. He is protective of you and you understand why. He thinks you are a vampire. It's a thought none of the others have had and you have to admit, while you should be insulted by the thought, his guess was closer to the truth than any of the others. You shift in you spot to look him in the eye. He seems to realise for the first time how close he is to you and you feel him start to shift back. Without thinking you reach out to stop him. Although the stench of his blood is setting you on edge, you like being this close to another being. _

"_I am not like you," you say clearly. He looks shocked and you realise that he doesn't quite understand the extent of your abilities. "I am not a... vampire." He is confused for a moment and then his face falls. He starts to move again but you grab his arm more firmly._

_Just then, Helen bursts back into the room carrying a thick blanket and a cup of something. She pauses, taking in the scene and it is only now that you realise the others were watching you, fascinated. Propriety dictates you let go of Nikola but you decide against it and hold him tightly. He stops trying to move so you loosen your grip so that you hand is simply resting on his arm. Helen's eyes flick to your contact and you feel a flash of… Jealousy? Are you reading that right? You search again and the pang is gone, replaced by curiosity. You are about to ask her why she is jealous and then remember that, considering her fiancé is in the room, it might not be the easiest question for her to answer. Instead you store it away for another moment. _

_Suddenly the blanket is thrown around your shoulders. You flinch as the course fabric scratches at your skin but then the cup is thrust into your hands. You look down at the insipid milky brown liquid. You sniff delicately at it. Tea. You stifle a groan at the way in which it has been prepared, knowing you shouldn't purposefully upset this girl who has gone to so much trouble to help you. By looking at her, you can tell she has never cooked much more than tea so you smile and sip the drink. Perhaps, if she doesn't kill you, you'll try and teach her how to make proper tea. No milk, three sugars._

_As you settle into the normalcy of the room, you can feel those polite traits you have worked hard on honing come back to you and your animalistic tendencies hide behind the polite mask once again. Slowly, aware of all the eyes on you, you reach forward and place the cup on the table in front of you. The blanket around you shoulders slip and you don't care but immediately, Nikola's hands are at the ready, pulling it back up to your shoulders. You smile at him kindly, wondering if you should tell him that it is making you itch or that you really don't need the blanket._

_You turn away from his probing eyes to scan the room once more. When your eyes come to rest on John, you instinctively shuffle back so that your back is touching Nikola's shoulder. You know it shouldn't be instinctual to sidle up to the closest thing to your arch nemesis but you can hear his mental anger at the man who is still glaring at the pair of you. Suddenly, you feel Helen's eyes on you and you turn to face her, glad to see her smiling._

"_Now Josephine, what can we do for you?"_

"-because they will wake up any second and I'll not have them see me writhing around on your lap," Rosie said curtly as everyone else let out a startled gasp. They all came out of the vision with a start, gasping for breath. Well, except for Helen whose eyes fluttered open gently.

"Like I said," Rosie muttered, rolling her eyes at Nikola who seemed to be pouting.

"What was that?" Will asked, his heart pounding.

"That was how I met Helen," she explained softly. She reached out, touched his hand softly and his eyes flew to her face.

"Yeah, but what was that?"

She chuckled softly at his confusion before answering.

"Just one of the many services I offer." At their blank looks, she made a pained face. "My memories."

"But how?" Kate asked. The dizziness that had accompanied the vision was staring to pass and she was beginning to piece it all together.

"Haven't a clue," Rosie answered cheerfully. "All part of the charm, I suppose."

"I had no idea," Helen said quietly. Rosie's face grew sombre before she smiled at her old friend.

"There is a time and a place for everything," she said simply. Helen's brow creased with worry. She'd always known of the animosity between John and Rose but this was a level of detail was something she'd never before been privy to.

"But wait," Henry said, sitting up. He'd experienced the visions before and was handling it rather better than the other two. "Why do we call you Rose if your name is…. A….Art…"

Rosie laughed lightly at his attempt to say her name.

"Akrin'tanki," she said, putting him out of his misery. "And it's a rather interesting story, if I do say so myself."

"May I?" Nikola interjected with a grin.

"No," Rosie answered, turning up her nose up at him. "Knowing you it would end up distorted beyond recognition." Nikola snorted but Rosie held up a hand and shot him a warning look.

"I always knew I was named after a flower but I could never place the translation. See, it's not an exact translation, more an appropriation," she explained, turning her back on the smirking vampire.

"But how did you realise?" Kate threw out.

"Well, one day, after I'd explained to them the origins of my name, Nikola took me walking through the public gardens not far from Helen's home. We were simply meandering through the grounds when I saw this flower and instantly I knew. So I abandoned Nikola and ran over to it, kneeling before it. My name, means, approximately, 'white flower of the many thorns'. "

"You turned to me and started to exclaim, very loudly I might add, that this was you," Nikola drawled and Rosie shot him an annoyed look.

"Anyway, it took a few tries but eventually Nikola realised what I was telling him and the name just stuck," she finished with a sour look over to the pouting vampire.

"I think you're missing the bit where you came sprinting home, waving a rather beaten looking rose in my face," Helen added with a smile. Rosie rolled her eyes but smiled at the good natured jibe.

"That's hardly pertinent," she scoffed sitting up that little bit straighter in her seat.

"But how did you find them?" Will asked, taking a deep breath as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Ah, yes well. After what the vampires did to my people, I became somewhat…" she paused, looking for the word, "blood thirsty," she decided with a smile. "And when Helen and her merry band of men injected themselves, I was able to track them down, believing them to be vampires. I could smell the blood or at least near enough to send me into a frenzy."

"And if I remember correctly," Helen added thoughtfully, "A certain part vampire was rather upset when you proved to be, for all intents and purposes, untouchable."

Rosie laughed appreciatively as Nikola made a face. "Mind control does have its perks," she said with a grin.

Taking in their confusion, Rosie rolled her eyes before quickly rolling up one of her sleeves.

"Nikola, if you wouldn't mind," she said, thrusting her arm towards him, palm up, forcing Kate to lean back. With a resigned sigh, Nikola raised a hand and tried to place his hand on hers. Everyone watched, fascinated as the two hands remained millimetres away from each other. There was a small haze between their hands and Kate, surprising everyone, reached out to gently rest her hand on Rosie's arm. Rose smiled before looking at Kate's hand forcing it up and off her skin, clenching it into a fist much to Kate's amazement.

"That's kinda scary," Will said in awe as he watched their fingers attempt to entwine. Rosie let out a light chuckle and suddenly, her hand was clasping Nikola's. The vampire smiled at their hands.

"It takes a lot of concentration," she explained, "so I don't do it very often." Slowly she retracted her hand from Nikola's. She cast a guilty glance at Helen before sitting up straighter than before, staring at Will as if afraid to look at the others. There was a brief pause as silence encompassed the group. Eventually Henry yawned and everyone looked at him gratefully, Rosie in particular.

"I think it might be time for bed," Helen said diplomatically as she tried to figure out the source of Rosie's discomfort. Henry nodded tiredly as did Kate but Nikola scoffed.

"Just because we're blessed with no need to sleep, doesn't mean you should gloat Nikki," Rosie chastised in such a way that Will wondered whether Helen had learnt it from her. Nikola's mouth twitched and he shot a glare at her.

"Call me that again and we can test that impenetrable skin of yours," he threatened.

"Would you rather I called you Edward?" Rosie threw back, her voice filled with innocence.

"Enough!" Helen interjected. Nikola closed his mouth and tried to relax into his seat but the animosity was coming off him in waves. Rosie crossed her ankles delicately and smiled sweetly at Helen. Suddenly her sunny smile turned into a pout and she crossed her arms.

"Really Helen," she grumbled, rolling her eyes.

"What?" Kate asked, suddenly alert.

"Don't," Helen warned her friend. Rosie let out a suffering sigh but seemed to keep her mental mouth closed.

"As delightful as this is," Rosie said, casting a glare at Helen before continuing, "I think I'll head off to bed now." She stood with a smile and started heading towards door.

"My thoughts exactly," Nikola said as she walked past him. "Night," he called cheerfully.

"Wait, I thought... You guys don't sleep?" Will asked, confused. Helen and Kate rolled their eyes and Nikola started to talk but Rosie held up a hand. She was unable to keep the bemused smile off her face as she paused in the doorway, hand on her hip, Nikola behind her, his features contorted with annoyance.

"Well, we were trying to be discreet but let's see how long it'll take him to figure out," she said indulgently before turning and almost pushing Nikola out the door. Helen rolled her eyes at the overly dramatic behaviours of the two immortals. Then Rosie sent her a rather clear message.

"Don't you dare!" Helen called out through the open door.

Everyone looked to the boss, confused at her sudden outburst.

"She threatened to break the bedside tables on purpose," Helen muttered by way of explanation.

"Oh wait," Will said suddenly, sitting up in his chair. "Oh, ew!"

"And now he gets it," Kate said, pushing herself out of her seat. Henry groaned and did the same and Will was quick to follow. Helen sat back in her chair as each of her team said their goodbyes, wondering if Rosie was in fact serious about destruction. Then something that had been niggling in the back of her mind clicked. Rose hadn't shown Nikola the memory. So much for a happy couple.


	8. Wake Up Call

**Thank you all reading and reviewing, it is for you that I am powering through the sequel! Hopefully I'll finish it soonish and then these updates can become a bit quicker :) Also, thanks for Emmy1512 for beta-ing even though I know she actually hates this fic a lot :P**

**Much love to you all and please review to make my horribly early shift tomorrow morning more bearable!**

**xx**

* * *

><p>The next morning Will couldn't sleep. It was 4 in the morning and the sun was just starting to peek through the windows of his room. With a sigh, he rolled out of bed only to fall straight back down.<p>

_Come to me._

The voice was in his head and sounded an awful lot like Rosie.

_Not like that._ The voice was sarcastic now._ I mean, follow my voice. See if you can find me. Although I suppose 'Come to me' is a little more mystical._

Yeah, it was definitely Rosie, he decided, getting up slowly. After grabbing some clothes, Will left his room, not sure where he was heading.

_Just relax. I don't think you'll be able to do it but just humour me, O.K?_

He took a breath and tried to relax but hearing Rosie giggle mentally at his efforts was a bit distracting.

_Sorry._

Will stopped suddenly, remembering how she'd left last night. He tried to pose the question in his mind, not sure he was doing it right.

_He's not here._

He could feel her exasperation at his fears and he chuckled out loud before wondering why he was following her instructions.

_Because you trust me. And you are curious._

She was giggling at him again. Suddenly Will realised he could indeed follow her 'voice.' Tentatively, he made his way towards the elevator. He could almost feel Rosie's excitement at so he figured he was on the right track. He couldn't help but think this was weird, as natural as it felt.

_Aw, I like you too._ She was teasing him. _But you are a natural at this. Most people tend to freak out if I start chatting with them before they've had a chance to get dressed._

Will stopped dead. He hadn't thought about that.

_Don't worry, it doesn't work like that. I couldn't see anything._

He let out a breath just as the doors to the elevator opened. The ride up to the top of the building (he'd pressed the button without thinking about it) was slower than he expected. As the doors opened again, he was blinded by a startling amount of light. He very rarely came up this high, in fact, when he thought about it, very few people did. Ashley's room was up here and the thought of that was enough to keep pretty much anyone away. For some reason, this part of the Sanctuary had always been far less lavish in its decoration than the rest. The floor boards were bare and the walls slightly faded but it all seemed free of dust. Maybe someone did still come up here.

On instinct, Will walked out of the elevator and turned left, walking past the giant window and the still shut door to Ashley's old room. Rosie was being oddly quite in his head so he took that as good sign. Slowly, he pushed open the door at the end of the corridor and was again blinded by the extravagant amount of light flooding the room. Once his eyes got used to the light, Will managed to notice the state of the room. There were scraps of fabric strewn all over the room as well as several broken pieces of what he originally assumed were the bedside tables but as he glanced towards the mussed up bed, both the bedside tables seemed to be intact. Just flicking his eyes over the bed, Will noticed the great gashes in the mattress and quilt and was a little startled.

"Don't worry about it, I'll pay for the clean up."

Her voice floated over towards him and Will was shocked he hadn't seen her before. She was perched on the arm of a chair next to the window that made up the wall of the loft like room, her wings curled around her body protectively as the first rays of sun shone through the window.

"I didn't think you'd find me," Rosie said as she looked over her shoulder at him. Slowly, she slid off the chair and turned to face him. Will let out a stuttered cough as he took in her rather dishevelled outfit. She was wearing a rose coloured negligee that ended half way down her alabaster thighs. Her hair fell in waves around her face and with her wings stretching behind her, Will took back his earlier assessment that she looked plain.

Rosie smirked at him and Will smiled sheepishly.

"It's alright, we can't all control our thoughts," she joked as she rolled her shoulders. Her eyes flicked shut as her wings slowly began to recede.

"Does it hurt?" Will asked curiously as she opened her eyes again.

"Like you would not believe," she said simply with a smile. "Come on, let's get breakfast."

Will let himself be led from the room, still half asleep. He couldn't quite remember how he'd gotten there

"I'm very impressed," Rosie said conversationally. "It took Helen a while to figure out how to follow me. Though I have to think it might be because you weren't awake enough to fight it."

Will said nothing, still trying to catch up to what she was thinking.

"Why me?" he asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Why you what?"

"Don't you already know that?" Rosie chuckled at him.

"I try not to pry. Sometimes it just happens," she answered with a shrug as they stepped into the elevator.

"I meant why did you wake me up?" he clarified, feeling a little more awake than before.

"I didn't wake you up. You were already conscious when I found your mind," she replied, shooting him a look he couldn't quite make sense of.

"O.K then, why did you 'talk' to me?" he asked. Rosie seemed to blush as she glanced at him.

"I, uh, wanted to talk about last night. To say sorry again," she answered but Will could tell she was holding something back.

"And?"

"And I've got questions about Helen," she said with a frustrated sigh.

"Can't you just ask her yourself? Or just use your little jedi mind trick to get the information you want?"

"Come on Will," Rosie said, rolling her eyes. "This is Helen we're talking about. Never in a million years would she give me a straight answer if I was to ask her how she was. That and there's the matter of privacy. The gifts I have may be naturally occurring but that doesn't give me the right to take from people their memories. Sometimes I can prod at the surface but anything more than that… Well, that's where it all get's emotional. It's just not right," she finished, rubbing at her arm nervously. She was staring straight ahead now, not really focused on anything and Will had the sneaking suspicion she wasn't talking to him anymore.

The rest of ride was in silence and it wasn't until the doors opened again Will decided to ask where they were heading.

"The kitchen," Rosie sang over her shoulder as she skipped out. It took Will a few moments to figure out what she was talking about. He let out a sigh as he started to follow. He was never going to get used to this.

"Don't put money on it." He groaned at her sunny tone.

"How can you be so…" he asked.

"Chipper?" she asked innocently, coming to a stop to wait for him.

"Yeah, that." She chuckled at him.

"I'd say I slept well but we both know that's not true."

Momentarily Will forgot about the no sleeping thing and stopped to gawk.

Rosie paused, crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. Then, coming to his senses, Will shut his mouth and shook his head.

"Sorry, I don't know what I was thinking," he apologized as he walked towards her.

"I do," she said cheekily and he groaned. "Oh come on, you set me up for that one. How could I resist?" she asked playfully.

"You know it was bad, right?"

"Oh, terrible," she agreed with a smile. "But that doesn't mean it didn't need to be said."

Will said nothing and they kept walking towards the kitchen he rarely frequented. The local Chinese delivery boy was an old patient so most of their meals came heavily discounted and in plastic. Magnus didn't approve but hey, no one was gonna turn away cheap take out.

"So, how has she been?" Rosie said suddenly, coming to a stop in front of the nearby the window.

Running a hand through his hair, Will let out a sigh.

"She's Magnus. She's doing as Magnus does."

"But since Ashley…" Rosie trailed off and Will was a little surprised to hear the hitch in her voice.

"I think she's a peace with it. Well, as at peace as she can be. I think it's harder for her some days than others," he said quietly and Rosie nodded, her concentration evident on her face.

Will opened his mouth to speak again but Rosie held up her hand.

"There's an easier way, if you don't mind," she said softly, cocking her head to the side. Taking a steadying breath, Will braced himself.

"Don't worry, you probably won't feel a thing," she assured him.

"Probably?"

"I make no guarantees," she joked. There was a brief pause and she smiled softly at him. "That wasn't so hard now was it?"

"You mean that's it?" Will asked, shocked. After his experience last night, he'd been dubious but if it got him out of discussing Magnus then he sure as hell wasn't going to say no. He could tell that the two women had a past and that Rosie genuinely cared about her but that didn't stop it being difficult to talk about.

"Told you so," she replied with a grin.

"I can see why you feel guilty about it. I mean, if you hadn't told me, I probably wouldn't have realised."

"My, my Dr. Zimmerman, are you trying to psychoanalyse me?" she said seriously but the corner of her mouth twitched ever so slightly so Will smiled back.

There was a beat and then Rosie let out a huff.

"You underestimate Nikola," she said, looking Will in the eye. Will, for his part, blushed furiously. He knew questioning an essentially telepathic abnormal's preference of bedfellow was maybe not the smartest move considering her marked propensity for violence.

_You do know you sound just like Helen, right?_ Rosie asked.

"She kinda rubs off on you after a while," he admitted with a sheepish grin, pleased she'd dropped the subject of Nikola.

_Not likely_.

Will groaned.

"Why does it upset you so much?" Rosie asked, sensing his discomfort at her ability. "Are you jealous?" she tacked on the end with an impish grin.

"What?" Will spluttered. Rosie rocked back on her heels and chuckled before crossing her arms, clearly expecting an answer.

"He's Tesla," Will complained, well aware he sounded like a small child complaining about having to sit next to the smelly kid on the bus. Rosie raised an eyebrow and pursed her lips and Will was stuck by just how very much he didn't want to have this conversation. Then, with a stroke of genius he smiled at her and closed his eyes, thinking back over every single time Tesla managed to endanger their lives and each of his unthinkably selfish moments. Feeling confident he'd sidestepped the conversation, Will opened his eyes. Rosie's eyes were dark and he could sense things had taken a turn for the worse.

"He is not nearly as arrogant as he pretends," Rosie said fiercely. "You must remember that for his entire life, Nikola has been the underdog, belittled and looked down upon by nearly everybody from whom he sought approval," her voice was softening and Will got the feeling she was pleading with him to see things her way.

"He is a good man Will, a brilliant man who cares more deeply than you could even dream. Deep down he is a very good man, one of the best. It may not seem like it but he always has the best of intentions. Nikola is fiercely loyal Will and most of the time his actions stem from that loyalty." Yeah, he decided, taking in her big brown eyes, she wanted him to believe her. There was a pause as he took in the emotion she was radiating. She smiled softly at him before opening her mouth to continue.

"You mustn't be so harsh on him," she chastised lightly. "Perhaps if you treat more like a man and less like an annoyance you might be surprised."

There was a pause before Will let out a sigh.

"You're in love with him." It was a statement, not a question but Will was surprised none the less when she didn't shy away from the question.

_Yes._

"Does he know?"

_It doesn't matter._

"Of course it matters," Will said softly, stepping towards her. He could see the hurt in her eyes, a deep hurt caused by a century of love that had gone, from what he could see, unreciprocated.

"He loves me. It's just…." _Different._

"But does he know?" Will pressed, concerned by the blank expression she was wearing. Despite hardly knowing the woman, Will couldn't help but feel for her. She was clearly devoted to a man who didn't seem to realise it.

"He knows I care for him a great deal," she clarified with a slight twinkle in her eye. "But it hardly matters."

"But it does," he repeated stubbornly.

"Really, why?" she asked, almost mocking him.

"Because you love him," Will said, exasperated.

"What I wouldn't give to be young enough to believe that," she said, her voice tinged with sadness. "Living forever may sound like a dream Will, but trust me, it's not something I'd wish on anyone," she said dryly.

"Now who sounds like Magnus," he grumbled.

"Please," Rosie sniffed. "She sounds like _me_. I am infinitely older than Helen. I'd like to think I taught her everything she knows about being a twisted and bitter immortal."

"Does he love you back?" he asked, the question hanging in the air. He asked it before it had even fully formed in his mind. He regretted it instantly but the serene smile that appeared on Rosie's face only fuelled his curiosity.

"Love is tricky Will. It comes in so many different shapes and sizes. I love Nikola and he loves me but they are two very different types of love," she said softly, the words sounding like ones she had said on many previous occasions. "Not that you'd understand that." Her remark was flippant but he bristled at it none the less.

"Oh, not like that," she said, beating him to the punch. "I just mean that you are still very young. I have no doubt that you have been in love but, until you have been in love with more than one person, neither of whom can ever love you back, and know that you will outlive them because their immortality is fallible, you won't understand," she said with a soft smile but Will could see the pain in her eyes.

"Not to sound callous, but I hope I never do," he murmured.

"My sentiments exactly," she said with a grin.

Will chuckled before letting out a yawn.

"You should go and get some more sleep," Rosie said, her brow creasing in worry.

"Tell me something first," Will said, puzzled. He paused, assuming she'd take the information she needed but let out a sigh as she cocked her head, waiting for him to voice the question.

"What's the point of telepathy if you can't avoid uncomfortable questions," he joked.

"Will," she said, rolling her eyes. He sighed.

"If you're so passionately in love with him, why did you kiss me?"

She smiled broadly at that one.

"Love comes in many forms William and I get the feeling you and I have a very interesting future ahead of us even if I hate you a little bit right now."

He raised his eyebrows and ran a hand through his hair but said nothing.

"Go. Sleep," she said, waving a hand towards him dismissively before turning to the window. A little shocked at her abrupt goodbye, Will turned away. There was a soft ruffling noise and Will turned back around in time to see her wings burst forth again. He let out a splutter and Rosie turned her head to give him a smile.

"You need sleep, I need sunlight," she said by way of explanation.

"You mean…"

"Think of it as something of a recharge," she advised, turning back to the weak sunlight and closing her eyes. Will opened his mouth to ask one of a thousand questions but Rosie let out a soft hum. "Go sleep Will, you're exhausted. I'll still be here when you wake up."

"I don't think I'll be able to get back to sleep after all this," Will said, gesturing at her scantily clad, winged form.

"If you go to bed, I can help with that," Rosie said, a tinge of regret colouring her tone. Will raised an eye brow sceptically, wondering why she'd feel guilty when she didn't actually wake him up but let out a sigh and shook his head, pushing away the thought for a more conscious point in his day.

"Bye," he called out, his disbelief evident as he walked away.

"Just you wait," Rosie called after him, chuckling at his reluctance.

Will made it back to his room quickly, trying desperately to not think about the way in which Rosie's words could be misconstrued.

_Will_, she chastised. He chuckled aloud at her mental scolding and continued to his room.

As he slipped into bed, he briefly wondered if Rosie was lying about not being able to see him as he changed but, as he…. Was heard the right word?

_Yes_.

As he heard her mental sigh, he figured he was again being,

_A little self obsessed. Honestly Will, your naked body doesn't hold that much attraction for me._

Well, those probably wouldn't be the first words he'd use to describe it but he felt a tinge of relief that, while completely invasive, her abilities weren't that uncontrollable.

_Sorry about that._

He could hear her wince at his thoughts as he settled under the covers. As he predicted, as tired as he was, he was way too keyed up to sleep.

_Close your eyes_. Her instruction was soothing and Will could have sworn her felt her hands gently caressing his cheek. _Rest Will, it's all fine._

A strange lethargy started to fall over his body, lulling him into a comfortable state of semi consciousness but he fought against it.

_Just relax_. Her instruction was just as soothing as before but for some reason, Will could sense her annoyance at his inability to trust her words. Unfortunately, he didn't get a chance to dissect that thought any further because at that very moment, his eyes fell shut and Will drifted off into a deep, peaceful sleep.


	9. The Flour and The Flirt

**So, as some of you smart cookies may have realised, I change the character designation on this one. Basically I was just reading it through the other day and realised, while it's not shippy and fluffly like most of my stuff, even once others begin to make an appearance in this one, Nikola and Helen are very much at the centre of this twisted little piece I've come up with... But to those who can't stand the thought of them, don't worry, there will be no super smexy fluff/romance in here between them :P**

**Anyway, before I depress the Teslen shippers any further, I'll go and hide! (Just wait 'til the third story guys! I'll make it up to you, I swear :P)**

**xx**

* * *

><p>When Helen awoke, it was early, even by her standards but she couldn't shake the feeling that she needed to be awake. With a sigh, she rolled out of bed, grabbing a dressing gown to throw around her shoulders before heading out in search of the only thing that could clear her head at this hour; tea. Rolling her shoulders, she slipped into a pair of embroidered slippers before padding down the hallway.<p>

By the time she was halfway to the kitchens, Helen had already planned out half her day. After grabbing some tea, she'd head off to find Rose for a proper greeting. Then she'd dash back to her room, change into the tailored black jacket and pants she'd been saving for a day that involved minimal abnormal goo and then see if she couldn't get a few more reports churned out before everyone arrived for the morning meeting. After that she had a teleconference to discuss the clean up still happening in Mumbai after their rather large security malfunction. Then she'd look at the reports Declan had sent over before having a quick lunch followed by the resorting of the myriad of tasks set out by the papers on her desk.

With a sigh, Helen pushed open the door the kitchen only to be greeted with mingled laughter. It took a moment for Helen to reconcile the musical titter of Rose and the deep chuckle of her old friend and manservant with the early hour.

"Morning Helen," Rose sing-songed with a startling smile.

"Glad to see some things never change," Helen replied with a smile. Rosie let out a soft giggle at the slightly sleep muddled mind of her old friend. Helen Magnus not functioning at peak performance was always a sight to be cherished, if only for the complete serenity her face exuded at that point.

"That's not much of a greeting," Rose chided as she spun to look at Helen.

"And that's an awful mess you've made," Helen said, appraising the flour covered body of her friend. There was a smear on her cheek, a dab on her nose, several hand prints on her hips and a light dusting over her hair.

"It's not my fault someone here dropped the flour," she muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Hey, don't blame me. You're impression of Henry was priceless," the Big Guy grunted, shoving the girl with a flour-covered hand. Rosie stumbled but laughed before shoving him back lightly.

"But why exactly are you cooking?" Helen asked as she slid into a chair, pleased to find a mug of steaming tea on the bench. Without looking, she took a deep swing before making a face. Something this sweet and this strong had to be Rosie's. She gently put down the mug and pushed it away from her.

"Breakfast," Rosie answered, not looking away from the lump of dough on the bench in front of her. "For you. Don't tell me you've lost your taste for scones?"

"Never," Helen promised, laughing lightly at the other woman.

"Told you so," Rose said, sticking out her tongue, a wide smirk on her face. A smirk, Helen decided, that looked far too much like a certain vampire's. The thought was somehow unsettling and Helen had to take a deep breath to shake away the feeling. When she finally managed to clear her head, Helen noticed that the room was a little too silent. Rosie was staring at her, a rather tortured look on her face. The Big Guy was looking silently between the two friends. With a rumble, he stepped away from the bench and headed towards the door.

"I'll see you later," he grunted, nodding at Helen.

"Make sure you write out that recipe for me," Rosie called after him and he waved a hand at her before the door swung shut behind him, leaving the two women alone.

"I've missed you," Rosie said after a beat.

"It is lovely to see you again," Helen responded with a wide smile. "It's been too long."

Rose's face fell at the words and her brow furrowed.

"Don't," Helen said, recognizing the look of guilt on her old friend's face. "I didn't mean it like that. It was only an observation."

"And a true one at that," Rosie said, suddenly serious as she slid into the chair nearest Helen. "I meant to come back after I realised what happened, I did. I just… I couldn't. I know it was incredibly selfish of me. I owed you both better than that." Her words tumbled out quickly and the remorse was clear in her eyes.

Helen reached out quickly, covering one of Rose's floury hands with her own.

"It's O.K," she assured the other woman, noticing it did nothing to alleviate the guilt in her eyes. "I didn't try and contact you because I knew you'd come when you could. I know you loved Ashley and you know she loved you."

"I could have come much, much sooner Helen. You and I both know that. But thank you for trying," Rose said, patting her friends hand before grabbing up her tea and leaning back in her chair. Helen said nothing, just smiling softly at the young girl who carried her age in her eyes. The two lapsed into companionable silence for a few moments, the weak sunlight filtering through the windows.

"I did 'seek my revenge' though," Rosie said suddenly with a mischievous smile at Helen as she propped her feet up on the table. "I contemplated delivering Dana Whitcomb's head to you on a platter but I remembered your dislike for the dramatic and refrained." Her voice was dry but Helen could hear the sorrow in it. Ashley and Rose had always been close, acting like sisters regardless of the relationship Helen had with Rose.

"You mean…" Helen left her statement open, unsure of what to make of it.

"You didn't really think Jacky Boy and Nikki could do it all on their own, did you?" Rosie asked sarcastically. "They are only children after all." Helen flinched at the words.

"I thought I asked you not to use that name?" she asked quietly, eager to stop discussing the gaping hole that Ashley made when she'd saved her mother's life. Even if it meant discussing her ex-fiancé.

"And I chose not to heed your warning. I'll call Mr. 'tall, bald and homicidal' by the name he, if you'll pardon the pun, carved out for himself," Rosie answered curtly, her eyes flashing dangerously.

"Why do you always do that?" Helen asked, exasperated.

"You know damn well why!" Rosie exploded. "He hurt you Helen. He hurt so many people but he hurt you most of all." Her voice trailed off as she spoke, and she pushed away from the table. "Do you know what the worst part is?" Rose asked, her voice hollow and small. "The worst part is that he will do so much worse. He is going to cause so much more damage and you still want him, monster or otherwise. He may have been the love of your life but Helen, you're going to live so many lives. You already have. He was the love of another life, not this one. And certainly not the next one either."

Rosie finished her quiet rant without so much as a look at Helen's shocked face. She stood, arms folded, staring out the window onto the neatly trimmed gardens of the Sanctuary but Helen could see the heartbreak on her face. Although it had been many years since the two women had shared more than a phone call or unanswerable letter, Helen was certain she knew the cause of that heartbreak and it had nothing to do with John and whatever betrayal she'd seen. Rosie was complicated in the extreme and her love life was no exception. Helen knew she wasn't the only person Rose had loved and was certainly not the one giving her the most trouble at this point in time.

"You're almost too smart for your own good some days," Rosie said weakly, turning to give Helen a sheepish smile.

"You really do love him, don't you?" Helen asked, feeling something invisible tighten around her heart as she waited for the answer.

"As you do."

Helen floundered for a moment, uncertain of how to play this.

"I don't," she said firmly, hoping the tone of her voice hid the uncertainty she felt at the mention of herself and a certain last of a species.

"Do too," Rosie said calmly, deadly serious regardless of the immature turn of phrase.

"Rose," Helen warned.

"Helen," Rose chided in a matching tone.

Both women broke into smiles and Rose flopped down into her chair with a laugh. Again, a companionable silence fell and Rosie let out a sigh.

"Did you really go after the Cabal?" Helen asked. As much as the thought of that abhorrent organization disgusted her, she had to know. At least this way she could be certain that an uprising of left over Cabal agents wasn't on the agenda. After all, Rosie never left a job unfinished.

"I didn't really have a choice. Your boys aren't very good at clean up jobs," Rose said with a grimace. "Though I will admit my job was made considerably easier by their help."

"Please don't tell me you killed them all," Helen said, a little worried. She'd seen Rosie's vengeance in action before and it wasn't pretty.

"Only those who should have known better."

Helen looked her over before letting out a breath, unable to feel completely upset at the idea of the end of the Cabal.

"I'm not a murderer Helen," Rosie said, her words soft but something about her tone was curt.

"I know," Helen replied. "It's just…"

"I know," Rosie said, her eyes brimming with sympathy and understanding. They were silent for a few moments but, just as Helen opened her mouth to talk again but was cut off when Rosie raised a hand and sprung out of her chair. Helen watched as the girl grabbed a tea towel before opening the oven and grabbing a tray loaded with golden scones that made Helen's mouth water just looking at them. Rosie let out a smug chuckle before putting them aside to cool.

"Tea?" she asked, looking over her shoulder.

"Please," Helen readily agreed.

In no time at all, the two were again seated at the table, a plate of scones sitting next to their mugs of tea.

"This is hardly a nutritionally sound breakfast," Helen commented as she grabbed the biggest one from the pile. Rosie scoffed as she grabbed one for herself.

"At least I didn't break out the cream," Rose quipped, snagging the pot of jam before Helen could. Helen rolled her eyes but remained silent as she drummed her fingers along the wooden table.

_Impatient._

_Just hungry, Rose._

_Surely you can wait your turn._

_*sigh*_

_You haven't changed one bit, darling._

_In the 6 years since we've seen each other, I'd think not._

_*sigh* You know what I mean, don't play coy._

_You haven't changed either. Rose: the eternal flirt._

_Takes one to know one…_

_Rose…_

_Oh, I love it, don't worry._

Helen rolled her eyes again and Rosie pushed the pot of jam towards her, mischievous smile in place.

"Oh don't pretend to be so prudish, it doesn't suit you," Rosie said, breaking off a chunk of scone before leaning back and crossing her legs.

"I was born in 1850, I have Victorian sensibilities," Helen sniffed before taking a dainty bite of the still warm treat.

Rosie snorted at that, almost doubling over with laughter.

"Rude," Helen retorted softly, a twinkle in her eye.

_You have to admit_ _it was rather funny_.

_Only to you._

_That's because I know that even in the 1880's you were most certainly not a prude._

…_. Shut up._

Rosie let out one last chuckle before sighing heavily.

"What's wrong?" Helen asked, knowing that sigh could only mean trouble.

Rosie pulled a face and Helen instantly knew what was going on.

"Oh," she said quietly, averting her gaze. Nikola. A bolt of something uncomfortable shot through Helen and she tried very, very hard to not think about what the something was or why she was feeling it. But, judging by the pitiful gaze of Rosie, Helen figured she hadn't done a very good job of hiding it.

"Go," she said softly, trying for a smile. "Mustn't keep him waiting." The quip fell flat and Helen could see the regret and guilt swirling in Rosie's eyes.

"Helen," she said, leaning across to take her hand. Rose waited until they were looking each other in the eye before giving her old friend a watery smile. "I… I…." she started. "I have no excuse. I keep hurting you and believe me, that is not my intention."

"It's fine," Helen said, withdrawing her hand, looking anywhere but the guilty looking girl in front of her. "I don't even know what's wrong with me," she added quietly, flashing Rosie a quick, sheepish smile.

"Liar," Rose accused playfully. Helen let out a soft chuckle before sighing and sitting back in her chair. Rosie looked thoughtful for a moment before letting out a low grumble , her face darkening as she pouted.

Helen raised an eyebrow as she took a sip of her tea, just a tad sweeter than she normally liked it. She was immensely glad that Rose, although she had undoubtedly delved into her mind to figure it all out, was willing to let it drop. For now, anyway.

"We're about to be interrupted," she said, disappointed. She looked so much like a child that Helen had to let out a laugh which earned her a dark little glare. "As much as I love your team Helen, it's been far too long since you and I have had the chance to catch up. But, alas I'll leave you to their inquisitive minds," she said, standing up and smoothing out her dress.

"What do you mean?" Helen asked, shifting in her seat, apprehensive.

"They have questions. About me. Lots and lots and _lots_ of questions," Rosie said with a smirk. "And I sure as hell am not going to be answering them."

"What could they possibly want to know that you haven't already told them?" she asked. As much as she loved their enthusiasm, fielding questions about Rosie wasn't exactly her preferred way to spend the morning. Mostly because she knew so little about Rosie's abilities that the questions usually led to more of her own that were always shot down with quick, cold logic that showed the pain and suffering Rose had endured.

"Oh, the usual," Rosie said dismissively, leaning against the table next to Helen. "Just evade and deflect," she advised, pushing off the table with a smile.

"Wait!" Helen said, putting her hand on her arm. Rose stopped and leant her hip against the table, crossing her arms as she waited for an explanation. "Why are you here Rose?" she asked seriously.

"I was wondering when that would come up," she said softly. "I'll tell you later, it's a story I don't want to have to tell five times."

Helen shook her head and let out a breath.

"Fine," she said, knowing she wasn't going to get anything out of Rose until she was well and truly willing to share. Rosie smirked, her eyes twinkling mischievously. So quickly Helen didn't have time to react, Rosie ducked down and threw her arms around Helen's shoulders.

"I've missed you," she whispered as Helen raised her arms to hug her back.

They pulled away from each other and Rose gave Helen her biggest, brightest smile.

"It's nice to be back," she said with a grin.

"It's nice to have you back," Helen said honestly, squeezing her friend's hand.

Rosie smiled once again before leaning in to brush her lips against Helen's in a chaste kiss.

"Bye," she said with a wink, straightening up and skipping across the floor. Helen could hear her light laughter floating down the corridor and she couldn't help by smile. Rose was like a breath of fresh air some days and she'd missed that. Taking another sip of tea, Helen leant back, listening to the footsteps that were beginning to echo off the walls of the corridor. Letting out a sigh, Helen toyed with the idea of trying to escape them but she knew the curiosity Rosie provoked was a powerful thing and, having been on the receiving end a few times, she understood it.

"Hey Magnus!" came Kate's cheerful greeting, distorted a little in the middle by a yawn. As the girl sat down, closely followed by a sleepy looking Henry, Helen could see the questions in their eyes. With a small smile, she prepared to answer the unanswerable.


	10. Letter Openers and Parlour Tricks

**Right, here you go. This one is a little short and chock full of things that are sure to make Emmy1512 come after me with a knife or two BUT, I'm thinking if I get over a certain number of reviews (I know, pulling an Emmy much?), I'll post the next chapter on Wednesday. It won't mend your hearts but I think it'll take your minds off this chapter which, I promise, does have a bit of a point other than makin' y'all squirm. Anyway, I'll stop rambling now because today has just been terrible and I need sleep. **

**Enjoy (and don't kill me)**

**xx**

* * *

><p>"What are you doing?" Rosie queried, standing in the doorway. Nikola spun around, shocked he hadn't heard her approach. His hands momentarily froze, leaving his shirt more than half undone.<p>

"Getting dressed," he answered snappily.

"Well, would you mind undressing?" Rose asked smoothly, her voice unnaturally even as she walked towards him lightly.

"And what exactly would the point of that be?" he asked, continuing to do up his buttons. Then his hands froze in place. He glanced down at his still open shirt before shooting Rosie a dirty look.

"I told you to stop," she said by way of explanation, coming to a stop a few feet from him.

"Well, if you'd be so kind as to give me back the use of my hands…" he said, his voice laced with frustration.

"You don't really need them," she said softly, her eyes dancing as she tiptoed towards him.

"Let me go Rosie," he said, his voice wavering with vampiric darkness. She smirked at him, getting closer and closer, dancing around his now frozen figure.

"Or what? You'll growl at me?" she taunted, reaching out to tap the tip of his nose with her finger.

"Rosie," he warned.

"Oh stop playing the angry vampire card, Nikki. I know you were just about to come and find me," she said, hands on hips.

"While I truly love to play these games with you, I have things to do," he said, coldly but she only smirked.

"I'd have thought that after all this time you'd have known better than to try and resist my abilities," she said lightly, stepping closer.

Nikola growled at her before realising that he was in fact a genius. Before she could catch on to his train of thought, Nikola sent the letter opener sitting on his desk whizzing towards her neck. Predictably, she stopped a centimetre from her skin with the very tips of her fingers but the anger and confusion in her eyes let Nikola know that he had won. She may not have let him go but perhaps now she'd throw him across the room, rather than holding him prisoner which was, despite the pain, preferable to letting her have all the fun.

"Nice parlour trick, Nikola," she said coldly, her lips curling back into a sneer as she tossed the letter opener away. "But I'm afraid I'm not that easy to distract." On her last word, Nikola found himself being forced to walk backwards, only stopping when his back hit the wall. Rosie, still standing in the middle of the room smiled at him prettily, hands clasped behind her back.

"Oh don't pretend to be all sweet and innocent," Nikola spat at her. "Even if you hadn't already proven you are neither, that delightful little dress speaks volumes."

Her smile promptly dropped away and her entire body tensed.

"Insolent, self destructive, painful, idiotic half breed…" she muttered, stalking towards him. Only when their bodies were almost touching did she stop moving, glaring up at him with nothing but pure hatred in her eyes. Suddenly, Nikola realised that somewhere in her tirade, she'd given him back control of his limbs. As quick as he could, his hands darted out to grab her but she was too fast, spinning just out of reach, eyes glinting dangerously. Intent on getting to his prey, Nikola followed her, fingertips just brushing against her sides as she twirled away from him again. He growled, stepping once again towards her and, predictably she spun away from him again, this time with a small, musical laugh.

"God I hate you," he growled, moving towards her once again, claws outstretched. This time, he caught her, pinning Rosie to the wall. She giggled at him but Nikola ignored the niggling feeling that she'd let him catch her.

"You are such a liar," she whispered, leaning forward to brush her lips against his ear.

"Nope," he said, shoving her back from him as firmly as he could. Rose's eyes widened at the action but he could see she was liking it. Plus, if she wasn't he had no doubt she could throw him off without a second thought. "I hate you," he said again and this time she let out a loud laugh.

"Keep telling yourself that," she advised, squirming so that he had to step closer to restrain her, his body pressed against hers. Taking in the gleam in her eye, he realised this had been her plan all along. With a growl, he tried to release her and step back but found that once again, he was stuck.

"Stop cheating," he growled, struggling against her mental bonds.

"Oh you love it, just give up already," she said flippantly, snaking her arms around his neck, letting her lips ghost across his.

"This is hardly fair," he said, now trying to lean into her as her legs wrapped around his hips. She chuckled and forced him back just a little, teasing him once more.

"I don't play fair, you know that Nikki," she chastised and Nikola felt his limbs come back under his control. With an evil smile, he stepped backwards, letting go of her. She fell to her feet gracefully, shooting Nikola a dirty look before pouting.

"All's fair in love and war," he said, quickly buttoning up his shirt. Rosie muttered something under her breath, crossing her arms as she continued to stare him down.

"Spoil sport," she accused but he only chuckled.

"Yeah well, after last night I figured I deserved some pay back."

"You deserve payback? Whose room is now in ruins, thank you very much?" she retorted, hands on hips. "You trashed the place!"

"Uh-uh," he said, wagging a finger at her carelessly. "_We_ trashed the place."

At his waggling eyebrow and sinful grin the anger in her eyes dissolved and she let out a dark little chuckle.

"You are incorrigible," she said.

"Don't I know it," he replied, starting to stalk her. Rosie rolled her eyes at him before stepping around his now well dressed figure, heading to the door. "And where do you think you're going?" he asked, grabbing her wrist, spinning her back to face him.

"I only came to offer my assistance in dressing," she said formally. "But seeing as you've done so well on your own, I'll leave you be," she said with a kind smile as she slipped her hand from his. She bobbed a curtsey before spinning around and walking calmly to the door.

With lightening speed, Nikola dashed around her, blocking her exit.

"Perhaps I could offer you the same courtesy," he said, stepping towards her.

"That is very presumptuous of you Mr. Tesla," she said, pretending to be shocked at his words.

"You know, I think that's the first time you've ever called me Mr. Tesla," he mused as she began to play with the buttons on his waistcoat.

"Would you rather I called you Nikki?" she said mischievously, winking at him as he growled.

"Not if you want that skimpy negligee to remain intact," he warned.

"Now who said I wanted that?" she whispered huskily just moments before his lips crashed down on hers.


	11. The Stuck Up Bitch Is Out Of The Bag

**Technically, I said if I achieved my target by yesterday I'd update (which we didn't get to) but I've had a shit week to say the least and the reviews I've gotten for this story have actually helped to take my mind of things so, even though it took longer than I'd set out, I figure it's Wednesday somewhere still so I'm posting this as a thank you to agrainne24, ljubav1986, minderismeer, Emmy 1512, starrynight398 and Olafur Neal. Your reviews have actually meant more to me than I can explain...**

**Now I've gotten that strangely sentimental stuff out of the way (I don't do well with sentiment), I want to apologise for the length of this one. I never realised just how short this chapter is until now... Ah well, it brings us to the actual plot of this story (because Rose and Nikola bonking is not it, I promise).**

**Enjoy and again, thank you.**

**xx**

* * *

><p>"Shall I call in the troops or is this a bad time?" Rosie said, peeking around the door to give Helen a cheeky smile. Helen, for her part, looked up, slightly startled by the intrusion into her thoughts. She hadn't been working for the better part of the last hour, her mind too distracted to focus on budgetary reports, as important as they might be. The twinkle she saw in Rosie's eye meant that, even if she was peripherally aware of Rosie's presence in her mind, she knew Helen had long ago given up on trying to do anything of real significance.<p>

"Come on then," she said with a sigh, pushing away from her desk to sit where she had last night. Rosie grinned and swung the door open before pausing, her eyes glazing over.

"They'll be along shortly," she said, prancing towards Helen. As she flopped down, Helen was glad to note that Rose had changed out of her skimpy negligee into a pair of charcoal pants and a loose button down top. Her sensible, low-heeled boots, inconspicuous and almost disposable clothing as well as the fact her hair was pulled back into a practical ponytail told Helen that Rose was here on business. The thought made her momentarily disappointed but, as Rose rolled her eyes, she shook it off.

"I can multi task you know," she said conversationally as Nikola came striding into the room, resplendent in a dark suit.

"Ladies," he said with a smirk and quick bow before settling next to Rosie on the couch. Taking in their proximity, Helen felt uneasy and she averted her gaze as Nikola began to make snippy comments about the lack of speed on the children's part. Rosie, it seemed, wasn't listening, her eyes glued to Helen's as she tried to figure out something. Again, Helen could feel Rosie's mind interacting with her own and, for once bristled at the intrusion.

At that, Rosie seemed to realise what she was doing and shot Helen a sheepish smile before shifting away from Nikola ever so slightly. Nikola then realised that no one was listening to and rolled his eyes. He began to move closer to Rose again but froze momentarily before shuffling a little further away. Rosie gave him an appreciative smile but before she could say anything, Will, Kate and Henry all walked into the room, each wearing varying looks of confusion. Well, except for Will who looked more apprehensive than anything else.

"Why… I mean, what…" Henry started, as he sat down.

"Welcome to the world of mind control," Will joked.

"Did you or did you not get back to sleep?" Rosie retorted.

"Well, yeah but it doesn't make it less weird," he said running a hand through his hair as he took a seat. Rosie scoffed and muttered something under her breath in a language Will couldn't recognize.

"What was that?" Helen asked with an icy glare.

"Nothing," Rosie said sweetly, looking like a 5 year old caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Helen rolled her eyes and sent her 'the look' to which Rosie pouted.

"Who knew your thoughts were so nasty," she muttered darkly and Nikola smirked. "And don't you even start," Rosie warned him, holding up a hand.

"Do you ever get used to the mental conversation thing?" Kate asked Henry who shook his head in response.

"Get's me every time," he admitted. "The only person who could keep up with it was Ash," he added before he realised what he was saying. There was a beat where everyone held their breath before Helen let out a sigh.

"Rose, I believe you called this meeting," she said, diverting everyone's attention back to their rather pensive looking guest.

"Right you are," she said, straightening her back. "It's, ah, a little _hard_ to explain but, first I need you both to think of something for me," she said, gesturing to Helen and Nikola who instantly sat up, alert. "I just need to get some facts straight," she said with a sheepish smile at the others. "But I promise I'll explain it all in the end."

"What do we need to think about?" Helen asked sceptically, noticing the twinkle of fear in Rosie's eye. Anything that could make Rosie reappear on her doorstep after years of virtually no contact as well as arouse fear within her, the one person who had seen more than her, set Helen on edge.

Setting her jaw, Rose steeled herself.

"I need you to remember everything you can about… Afina."


	12. Hollow Earth and Hatred

**From here you'll need to know vaguely what happened at the end of 'Awakening' as well as part of 'The Five,' which, considering you're all fans of the show, you probably should have. Much love to all who reviewed my midweek update. I can't promise another one unfortunately but who knows, maybe we'll get lucky :)**

**Also I know you're all going to know exactly who it is come the end but, well, twists are fun even if you can see them coming a mile away :P**

**xx**

* * *

><p>If he hadn't been so worried about the pure fear in Rosie's eyes, Will would have laughed at Magnus and Tesla. Both were staring at Rosie, eyes wide, faces frozen in a rather comical parody of abject horror.<p>

"You can't be serious," Helen whispered.

"More than you know," Rosie said in response, her eyes pleading with her old friend to understand.

"But, the map…" Nikola said suddenly, looking between the two women.

"Rose can't you-," Helen started but Rosie held up a hand.

"Please, just, everything you can remember, in as much detail as possible," she said hurriedly and Helen nodded once, mouth set in a determined line as he eyes snapped shut. Nikola shot her an annoyed look before doing the same.

After shooting the others an apologetic look, Rose placed a hand on both Helen and Nikola's knees and let her eyes glaze over, mouth hanging open slightly. The trio sat silently for a few minutes, faces occasionally twitching, joined by Rose's small hands on their knees.

With a soft gasp, Rosie suddenly withdrew her hands before swallowing. Her eyes were wide and breathing slightly laboured. Helen and Nikola's eyes snapped open and they both looked at her expectantly.

"How much do they know?" Rose asked, jerking her head towards Will, Kate and Henry. Her tone was bland, giving nothing away.

"Everything," Helen answered firmly. The two women shared a moment of silent communication before Rosie let out a hiss of breath.

"She's dead," Nikola said sternly. "She was blown sky high along with the map and the rest of the cavern."

"Wishful thinking," Rosie said in a small, wooden voice, her eyes hard.

"But how? We barely escaped, let alone Afina. She was at the heart of the explosion," Helen said, getting straight to business.

"It's complicated. I… ah… don't think it was Afina who survived. The Praxian's were too clever, it's not like they would have built in a failsafe," Rosie said, tapping a finger against her chin as she thought it through. "But you didn't do a very good job in the wiping them out front."

"Well excuse me for trusting in the mortal enemies of Sanguine Vampris," Nikola quipped.

"_I_ am the moral enemy of the vampires, darling. The Praxian's were an annoyance to us both," she said smoothly, breaking the tension.

"Can we get back to the issue at hand?" Helen interjected. Rose nodded and looked apologetic before she straightened up.

"Of course, sorry," Rose said. "As I was saying, I can't be certain which of them survived but I can smell them far better than I can smell any of you."

"But why couldn't you smell them before?" Will said, catching up quickly.

"The purple resin like substance," she said, shooting Helen a knowing look before turning back to Will. "I have no idea how they make it or what it's made from but it blocks me. I can't smell them or hear them when they're encased in it. From what I know it's a naturally occurring substance that they modified with the express purpose of keeping me and my kind out," she said, her voice thick with annoyance. "After all, leaving a Queen and her court all in the one place isn't exactly conducive to the continuation of that particular group."

"But wait, if you knew about the Praxian's, why didn't you tell me?" Helen asked, her mind moving at a mile a minute.

"The Praxian's were before my time," Rosie explained, her voice tinged with sorrow. "I know very little of the time because it was considered to 'too dark for remembrance,'" she said, lifting her finger for air quotes. "From what little I have learnt, the Praxian's were just about as fond of my kind as they were of the vampires. Something about the amount of power we could possibly wield frightened them. That was part of the reason they chose to retreat below the earth, that way we couldn't ever get in. No sunlight, no evangelical bitches," she said sourly. "For all intents and purposes, I thought that Hollow Earth was sealed off from the world, from both you and I Helen. Of course, had I known your father's involvement I may have been a little more accommodating to the man," she said with a faint smile. "But I swear I only kept the secret because I believed the place to be a death trap and was well aware of your inability to resist a challenge."

Helen shifted uncomfortably, certain that there was more to the story.

_Later_. _There will be time for this later but the fact that you have an ever increasing population of vampires on your hands must take precedence._

"Right," Helen said, nodding as she tried to hide the fear those words brought.

"How can you be sure you can see the vampire now? Could there be more?" Nikola asked.

"There are 24 of them," Rose answered slowly.

"24? Are you sure?" Henry asked, piping up for the first time.

"Positive. They're trying to procreate through the normal methods but, in the meantime they are transforming humans to supplement their numbers."

"But how did they survive?" Kate asked. "I mean, you guys said you blew them sky high."

"The Praxian's wouldn't have known about the resin so their technology wouldn't have been built to compensate. The chambers you saw when you met Afina stretched much farther than you would have seen. It's highly likely that one or two of them would have been injured by the blast, maybe even killed but still have been able to repair themselves," she explained, her voice taking on a scholarly tone. "In fact, given the current predicament, I'd guess that two of them did just that. A full blooded vampire would heal much faster than you can Nikola, it would have taken mere minutes for them to be back on their feet."

"But wait, how can they be changing humans?" Helen asked. "Wouldn't it just have had the same effect as it did back at Oxford? Unlocking previously dormant abnormalities?"

"They're screening for the genetic markers for vampirism," she said simply. "I haven't got a clue how they do it but they are doing it."

"But how?" Will asked. "That sounds a little too technologically advanced even for vampires."

"I do not know Will, perhaps they can taste it in the blood but I hardly think it matters," she spat coldly at him. The room was silent for a moment as her bitter words sunk in.

"I'm sorry, it's just, this is exactly why I haven't… why I'm still here," she said softly, looking him in the eye as she spoke. "I was meant to stop this from happening and now, I fear it will spiral out of control before I can intervene. They're numbers are growing even now."

"Where are they?" Helen asked, mentally preparing herself for what was essentially an unwinnable war.

"You're going to love this," she said dryly, shooting Nikola an undecipherable look. Rosie opened her mouth but, before she spoke, her face froze. Then, in the blink of an eye she was on her feet, body bristling with animosity as a low growl slipped through her lips. Her eyes darted around the room and she quickly moved to the door.

"Rose," Helen asked fearfully, standing slowly as she followed her friend. Rosie said nothing, only growling in response as she began to pace the room like a caged animal. Her teeth had grown again and her hands were curled in anticipation of a threat no one else could see. Letting loose a vicious snarl, she rolled her shoulders. Her body was tensed as she continued to stalk the perimeter of the room protectively, her movements carrying the grace of a predator.

"Rose, what's wrong?" Helen asked, no longer approaching her. Rose snarled at her, teeth gnashing as she moved quickly to the computer desk. With a few long claws, she tapped a few keys on the keyboard before spinning around, her eyes now white as her lips pulled back into a terrifying grimace, angry glare glued to the door.

"What was that? What did you do?" Helen queried, taking a few steps towards the now nearly unrecognizable girl. Rose was shaking, her entire body vibrating with tension and her breathing was laboured.

"That was the EM shield," she growled, her voice distorted with anger.

"What about the shield?" Henry asked, his voice shaking.

"I had to turn it back on," Rosie spat, not looking away from the door. Under her thin shirt, her back was rippling, wings threatening to break forward.

"Rose, what is it?" Nikola said, standing up, letting his own transformation take over. He didn't make to move closer to her but his body quickly became taut with the same tension as hers.

"Sit down Nikola," she growled, fingers flexing at her sides. She was now standing on the balls of her feet, leaning forward in preparation for something.

"Wait, the shield should have been up," Helen said, hoping that her words could get Rosie to focus on something other than the unseen threat. Of course, if there really was a threat, this kind of reaction told Helen that something, very, very bad was about to come through her door.

"It was deactivated three minutes ago," she answered, voice still a growl.

There was a soft knock on the door and Rosie's mouth curled into a cruel smile.


	13. Jumpin' Jack

**Here we are, another Sunday. Joy of bloody joys... Excuse my foul mood but I'm feeling like rubbish and have written nothing all weekend. I'll stop raging now and let you enjoy this one, it's rather fun I think. And yes, many of you guessed who our mystery guest was but I think this chapter will make some of the Rose haters a little more friendly towards her :P **

**Snaps for Emmy and her super quick beta. And for allowing me to rage all weekend. And for writing me smut that is vaguely political. Also, I just need to put out there, ew for the election...**

**xx**

* * *

><p>With a high pitched wail, Rosie threw herself across the room, grabbing John by the throat before anyone had even realised who had come through the door. She wasn't tall enough to hold him above the ground but it was plain to see the force with which she held him, nails digging into his skin.<p>

"Give me one reason," she roared at him, hand tightening.

"Rose STOP!" Helen yelled, finally realising what was going on.

John spluttered, hands clawing ineffectually at the girl before him. He tried to speak but Rosie's hand tightened around his throat, cutting off what little air he had access to.

With a growl, she flung him across the room and he fell to the floor, rolling until he hit the wall. He struggled to his feet eyeing off the still fuming woman.

"I thought I made myself perfectly clear last time we met Jack, you are to stay away from me and the others," she ordered drawing herself up to her full height. She spoke with authority and in a way that made the others shiver.

"I.." he croaked out.

"No!" she bellowed, voice getting closer to normal. Her claws had disappeared and her eyes were back to their normal brown but her body was still shaking. "You broke the terms of our agreement and-"

"Rose, stop… please," Helen said, making to rush towards the pair but Rosie flicked her gaze to the other woman, making her slide across the room until she was pinned against the furthest wall.

"Please," Helen called an unnatural note of fear in her voice. Rosie spun on her heel to face Helen, nothing but rage in her eyes. The two shared a long moment of silent conversation, Helen clearly pleading with her friend.

Slowly, as not to provoke her wrath again, John heaved himself upright before sidling away from her. By the time he was standing in front of the window, his entire body was shaking with rage, eyes glued to the young woman with her back to him.

_He won't harm any of us. Not while you are here. The beast in him is smart enough to know that_.

_There are no guarantees Helen. He deserves to die if not for the crimes he has committed then for the threat he presents_.

_Please. I… Please, Rose._

…

With a guttural growl, Rose rolled her eyes and spun on heel to face John. Her body was once again completely human but she looked to be a very angry human indeed. In three quick steps she crossed the room, stopping just in front of him. She smiled cruelly as he recoiled slightly. There was a pause as she appraised him and then, her face creasing in anger, she pulled a fist back. Her punch landed in the middle of his stomach with a sickening crack, forcing him to double over. Quick as anything, her free hand grabbed his shoulder.

"That?" she hissed angrily. "Was for Rome." With that she released him, shoving him harshly so that he fell back against the window seat. Turning away from him, eyes shining she stalked back to Nikola's side, hovering just behind him protectively. The others were all on their feet now, staying back to avoid whatever confrontation was approaching.

Nikola smirked down at her but, before he could say anything, she growled, eyes still fixed on John.

"Don't even start," she threatened and with an even wider grin Nikola complied, raising an eyebrow at John who was still breathing heavily.

"Ya think she's gonna jump him too?" Kate muttered to Will.

Rosie's answering snarl made Kate take a step back.

"Sorry," Kate said sheepishly, inching behind Will in case she needed a human shield.

Rose snarled softly before turning her attention back to John.

"Thank you," Helen said unsteadily as she walked forwards, instinctively moving towards Rose. John's eyes were flashing dangerously and Helen knew from experience that Rose was one of the few people who could frighten the beast within John enough to render him all but powerless.

"Know that I did it for you and only you," Rosie breathed, still not looking away from John. There was a pause as everyone absorbed the last few minutes before Rosie spoke again, her voice now much calmer.

"Care to tell us why you're here, Jacky boy?" she asked softly, gently pulling on Nikola's shoulder so that they could stand side by side.

"Rose," Helen warned, noticing the anger brewing in John's steely glare.

"I can handle myself, thank you," Rosie said smoothly as she stepped forward just enough that she was in front of the whole group.

_Rose. Stop. He would have come here only if he had to._

_What? I've only asked him a question._

_Rose…_

_Fine…_

"John, stop looking so terrified and come take a seat. Helen thinks I'm losing my manners," Rose said smoothly, plopping down onto the nearest seat.

Everyone turned to look at her, perplexed at the sudden change in demeanour.

"If he acts up, I can always kill him later," she said simply with a shrug of her shoulders.

_Rose!_

_I think Helen might be displeased with you if you do that my dear. Not that I'd stop you._

_She's not serious, is she?_

_Oh god, the Doc looks like she's about to shoot someone…_

_Damn that girl is good…_

_Please, Rose. I'm sorry._

"Your concern is touching, really but you can all rest your pretty little minds. I won't kill him unless I have to," she said softly, looking everyone in the eye.

_Don't give me reason John._

_I'll do my best_.

Rose chuckled as she crossed her legs. Slowly, John made his way over, taking the seat as far away from Rose as possible.

"Sit," Rose said and all the others complied. Her face twitched in annoyance as Helen sat next to John but otherwise she kept her cool.

"Now, Jac- John, why are you here?"

"The same reason as you I'd think," he answered smoothly.

"The vampires? You know about them?" Will asked, looking between the silent immortals.

"Heard it through the grape vine," John said sedately.

There was a pause as Rose and John stared into each other's eyes before Rose let out a soft hum.

"Good to see you're up to date," she said with a brief nod in his direction. "You could actually prove quite useful."

"I try," he said dryly. "But I'm afraid I won't be able to teleport you there-"

"No, I know that. And you're right," she interjected, waving away his explanation. "We can fly and meet you there," she said, throwing him a quick smile.

"But don't you think it'll be a tad suspicious," John said, leaning forward. His discomfort was clear but the fact that he was enthralled was also and that was something that frightened Helen to the core. John was never calm and quite unless the prospect of… She refused to even think it.

"It's the best chance we've got if we want to maintain at least a modicum of an upper hand," Rose said firmly.

"Wait!" Helen interjected, holding up a hand. "Rose, while I'm glad you've stopped trying to kill John, can you please go back and explain? The rest of us have no idea what you're talking about."

"The vampires. They're in Serbia."

The room fell silent.


	14. Travel Plans and Female Bonding

**So, just a heads up, the town I mention is a real place and a few years back they did report several vampire sightings which I like to think adds something a little more authentic to my tale which is steadily growing more and more insane... If you want a laugh, I can send you the link to the site I used :)**

**Thank you to those who are still taking the time to review. The past week has been painful to say the least and you've all helped to keep me smiling.**

**xx**

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><p>Two hours later and they were almost ready to go. Henry had packed, Helen had been calling around to make arrangements for their travel while Rose, Kate, Nikola and John had been pouring over maps of what appeared to be rather unfriendly terrain.<p>

"I can't pin point them now, there are too many," Rosie muttered as she traced a few random patterns on the table with a fingertip. Her eyes were scrunched shut, lips moving silently as she focused. Taking a deep breath, she abruptly scrunched up her nose before pushing away from the table.

"It's impossible. With you lot around my nose is too blocked up to pick up much more than a general _idea _of where they may be!" she exploded angrily.

"Rose, drop the melodrama," John said coolly.

"This mission can be completed without your assistance Jack," she snarled at him. "And killing you would lessen the stench that's blocking me."

"Woah!" Kate said, jumping in between them. A risky move, she knew but she was fairly certain that if John lost control and tried to kill her Rosie would most likely step in. Hopefully.

_I make no guarantees girl. Move._

"The Doc will kill you," Kate tried, standing her ground, surprised at how calm she sounded.

"Helen doesn't frighten me."

_Though you do have a point._

With one last snarl, Rosie spun on her heel and stalked to the open window. Her eyes were closed again but her brow was creased in annoyance.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Kate snuck a look at John. He sat, as he had before, stony faced but there was a tension in his frame that Kate supposed was only evident because he couldn't kill anyone or teleport away.

_It's a mixture of both_. Rosie's words were bitter but there was an edge of dark humour to them.

Kate chuckled appreciatively at the mental picture Rosie sent her. It was John, dangling off the edge of the highest tower in the Sanctuary, helpless and calling for assistance. It was ridiculous and improbable but the joy with which it was presented was infectious.

_You really don't like him, do you?_

_Understatement._

There was a pause.

_Nice work on standing your ground, even Helen can't manage that some days._

_Really?_ Kate thought, shocked. _I'd like to see that._

_Never in a million years. Plus last time it happened was well over a decade ago._

Kate felt momentarily disappointed but then the image of John in her head morphed to one of him tied to the top of Big Ben, this time naked and Kate almost choked. The detail in the picture was a little more than she'd been expecting. Actually, a lot more.

_Sorry._

_It's just a little, you know? I mean, it's funny but that's Jack the Ripper and there are things you never need to know about some historical figures._

_Even historical figures who regularly pop by for afternoon tea?_

Kate laughed out loud at that one.

_That's an even better picture than the Big Ben thing!_

_You know what Freelander? I think I like you._

_Ditto._

_I might even forgive you for that comment about jumping old Jack over there…_

_It was a good call._

_That it was._

The two women shared a mischievous grin but Rosie, not to be outdone, added in a wink for good measure as she sauntered by the other woman, heading back to the maps.

"They're here," she said simply, touching the map in front of John.

"Are you certain?"

"Do you really think I'd tell you if I weren't?" she asked smoothly. Her voice seemed benign enough but something in her eye made John move back ever so slightly. With a small smile, Rosie walked away from him slowly, over to where Nikola was pouring over another set of maps. Sitting down next to him (a little closer than strictly necessary, Kate noticed) she smiled before pulling the map closer to her.

Nikola looked at her and she smiled mysteriously, the two obviously sharing a moment of silent communication. All they were doing was looking between each other and the map but something about it felt much more personal than if they'd been making out and Kate had to turn away.

_I was just telling him about your thoughts regarding John's… endowment._

That she hadn't been expecting. Kate coughed and spluttered, looking guiltily at John before shooting Rosie a dirty look.

"You take all the fun out of it when you tell them," Nikola complained but Rosie merely chuckled indulgently.

"Well I could provide a comparison but one of you wouldn't come off so well," she said flippantly, winking again at Kate. Nikola leered at her and Rose put on her sweetest smile as she looked over the map again, letting out a light chuckle. There was a pause and then Nikola was chuckling smugly too. Rolling her eyes, Kate knew for sure that she didn't want to know what exactly they were now discussing. She heard Rosie's mental chuckle but was relieved when she didn't share exactly what was going on.

"So, the plane tickets are booked. Do we have a plan yet?" Will said as he strolled through the open doors.

"I think I'll take my leave," John said coolly, not looking up from the map.

"On one condition," Rose said softly, turning to face him. For several long moments the young woman gazed at John with unwavering determination, John staring back at her with something akin to hatred burning bright in his eyes.

"Of course," he said tightly, giving her one last malevolent glare. Kate didn't need to hear what their mental conversation had touched on to understand what had just gone down.

Rose had just threatened him with, by the looks of it, something worse than death.

"Druitt," she said curtly, nodding once as her eyes softened a little, the bitter hatred morphing into a determination that was more than a little intimidating. As much as they may hate each other, Kate could see a strange kind of mutual understanding. They were on the same side.

"Wait!" Will exclaimed, stepping forward. "Where are you going? I thought you said we'd need him!"

Druitt bowed politely to a confused looking Will before disappearing in a puff of red smoke.

"Helen will be along in a moment, how about I explain it all then?" Rose said gently, the kind smile on her face in complete contrast to the hostility that had been rolling off her in waves. Will nodded and a tense silence fell over the group, only broken when Helen came striding back in, her face set with determination.

"Right, I've spoken to Declan and he's prepared to take over things for a little while," she said. "And of course, someone is going to have to stay behind to watch over the Sanctuary."

At that, several cries of disapproval sounded.

"Helen," Rose said, cutting through the other complaints. "I don't think that would be a good idea. Nikola and I need to come, Henry too for the technological aspect. Kate I think would be good in terms of fire power which only leaves Will and if we need to split up, I know I can follow his mind easily unlike Henry or Kate which in terms of tactical organization will make life easier."

"Yeah, Doc, she's right," Kate enthused. "The Big Guy can watch the place."

Helen looked uncertain but when her eyes locked on Rose's, she nodded.

"He's not going to be happy about it but I see I don't really have much of a choice," she said with a sigh.

"'fraid not, my dear," Rosie said with a sad smile as she picked up the maps and headed over to stand in front of Helen's desk. The others quickly took their places and looked to Rosie who cast a nervous gaze over everyone.

"Right so, Serbia," she said with a small smile. "From what I can tell, they're somewhere in the vicinity of Gornje Stopanje," she said, pointing to the map spread out before them. "There've actually been sightings of vampires reported here in the past few years so it makes sense that, if they've found out that piece of information, that they'd set up camp there." Everyone eyed her sceptically and she sighed. "They'll be needing supporters or at the very least, people who are terrified enough to do their bidding so where better to turn to than a place that already has a number of people who believe in the stories. That and no one would think twice about another set of vampire stories from the area."

Her audience still wore disbelieving expressions but with another sigh, Rose powered on.

"Regardless, they're somewhere around here," she said, drawing a rather large circle before them.

"Somewhere?" Helen echoed uncertainly, never before had she known Rosie's abilities to be anything other than perfect.

"Yes, I was wondering about that too," Rose admitted. "I can't seem to narrow it down for some reason. It's like they're trying to block me out but I can only assume, because they've no idea I'm still here, they aren't taking all the usual precautions. Plus, with you lot in my nose, it's rather hard to track them," she said with a pout.

And then something hit Helen.

"Where's John?"

"He's gone on what we'll term a reconnaissance mission," Rose said delicately, grimacing only slightly.

"You let him go alone?" Helen asked, incredulous.

"He'll meet us in Serbia," Rose replied with a small smile. "And no, I know where you're going with this. You wouldn't have been any help to him where he's going. I may have been able to assist but you need me here."

"Rose," Helen began, eyes ablaze. "I am perfectly capable of gathering intelligence and, despite what you might think, not all my sources are particularly reputable."

"As seedy and criminal as your tendencies might be," Rose allowed with a slightly condescending smile. "You are Helen Magnus, something from which you shall never be able to escape. People know you and who you are and while the same may be said for John, his reputation as a stone cold killer means that those he works with are less likely to try and double cross him."

"I hardly think that's a fair assessment of the situation," Helen muttered, crossing her arms as she shot Rose a dark look.

"You're just too angelic," Rosie said with a sardonic smile but Helen only glared. "There are more pressing matters than your street cred," she said with a sigh, raising an eyebrow in a way that made her seem far older than she looked. "What news do the rest of you have to share?"

"Well, I've got us plane tickets that leave in four hours. And I've organized for a van once we arrive," Will said, uncertainly.

"And I've packed some stuff but I wasn't sure what the destruction of a budding kingdom of vampires required," Henry quipped.

"Kate and I will come help you with that," Rose said. "The rest of you need to go pack some rather durable clothes."

"What about accommodation?" Will called out as every started to leave.

"That's the least of our problems Will," Helen said, moving to gather up the maps. There was a grim determination to the moves of the three immortals, as if something about this trip would inevitably end in pain and it set Will on edge.

If they couldn't handle a few rouge vampires, then what hope did the rest of the world have?


	15. Airports and Elevators

**Sorry this is a bit late. Sunday night was hectic and I was too tired to get my sorry arse around to this... But here it is now. And, just fyi, all the things that are mentioned about Nikola are true. You'll get what I mean in a sec...**

**Love and hugs while I'm wearing my Tesla shirt to those who take the time to review, honestly makes my day :)**

**xx**

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><p>The flight was long and silent, everyone wrapped up in their own thoughts but it escaped no one's notice that Nikola and Rose, when presenting their passports, pretended to be husband and wife. Nor did Helen's reaction to such an action go unnoticed. John, for his part had remained absent, much to Helen's simultaneous approval and disappointment. Rose had, whether because of the tension or because of nerves, become more than a little snippy, commenting tartly that Helen ought to stop moping and buck up, John wasn't needed at this point and her mooning was apparently distracting. Of course, this meant Helen spent most of the trip stony faced, not looking at Rosie much less talking to her.<p>

Their stopover in Paris had been tense and Will got the feeling that the two women were having a silent fight. Neither were looking at each other, instead focused on crowds walking past them. When they were finally called for the much delayed flight, Rose was holding Nikola's hand discreetly and, although the vamp looked somewhat confused by the action, he obviously knew better than to let go. The air was frosty enough that Will silently cursed himself for not separating them on the flight.

Unfortunately for Magnus, it seemed, she was sandwiched between the wall and an irate looking Rosie. Will, hoping to avoid decapitation on a commercial airline (Magnus had refused to let them use the jet, arguing that the matter wasn't nearly pressing enough), had offered to swap with either of them but they'd both waved him off coolly, meaning that their animosity was allowed to flow free.

Occasionally Rosie would send a message to them all, telling them of something new she'd sensed or helping to create their plan of attack. Will wasn't sure how but she was somehow allowing all of their thoughts on the matter to pass freely between them, proving herself to be the most effective method of communication he'd ever encountered. It was as if she was filtering through everyone's ideas, linking them together and spinning them out whilst still giving credit to whoever came up with it, even if it was, as she was so fond of referring to him to as, the monster though Will got the feeling that particular reference was blocked from Magnus. That or the Doc was taking it extremely well. He was a little surprised that Druitt's ideas were being conveyed to them without any clue as to where he was or what he was doing but his voice was clear and crisp regardless.

The transferral of information seemed so effortless that when Rose mentally told them all to let her rest for a second, Will was shocked.

"There's no sun on this damn plane," she whispered, turning in her seat to peek through the gap to where Kate, Will and Henry were sitting. She gave them and apologetic smile before turning back around and letting out a small sigh. He couldn't be sure but Will was fairly certain he saw both Tesla and Magnus take the girl's hands. Perhaps the two weren't really fighting he mused.

When they landed, Rose took the lead, nodding briefly to Druitt who, surprisingly enough was at the gate waiting for them. No explanation was offered as to where he'd been but the fact that his grim look was mirrored on Rosie's face was enough to make Will think this was going to be a rather perilous trip.

In a matter of minutes they'd collected their bags and were standing at the rental care desk, Rose chattering away in fluent Serbian to the somewhat flustered attendant behind the counter, convincing him to give them an even bigger van for the exact same price. He wasn't entirely certain of what she was saying but the bemused look on Magnus' face and the murderous rage swirling in Tesla's eyes made Will fairly certain she was flirting with the man. When she let out a little titter, he was certain of it. He stifled a sigh and rolled his eyes, catching Magnus' in the process. She smirked at him before turning her attention back to the desk. The banter continued for a few more moments until Rosie suddenly stopped, her face darkening. She spun around to glare at Nikola and a low growl slipped out of her. Nikola simply smiled and, with a scathing look, she turned back to the scared attendant. She blurted out what sounded like an apology but none of her early affection was evident. In a matter of seconds she had signed the paper work and grabbed a set of keys before stalking past the group to the nearest elevator.

With two overstuffed duffle bags each, it was always going to be a tight fit but when an elderly couple with three suitcases a piece decided to shuffle in, tight didn't even begin to describe it. Helen, John and Kate were all against the back wall, shoulders touching. Henry and Will were standing along one wall and, as the newcomers stepped in, Rose and Nikola ended up almost flattening them to the wall. With Will against her back and Nikola pressed along her front, Rose soon began to squirm.

Simultaneously, Will and Nikola let out rather loud gasps and Rose looked mysteriously guilty. Everyone in the small space turned to look at the threesome with a thousand questions in their eyes.

"Sorry," Rose mumbled, a blush rising in her cheeks.

"What the hell was that?" Will choked out.

"An accident I swear," she said softly, eyes downcast.

"Bloody hell," Nikola muttered to everyone's surprise. He eyed Rosie cautiously and she gave him a small, embarrassed smile. "That was most certainly something you could have kept to yourself."

"I said sorry," she mumbled, looking down at her feet.

"What on earth did you show them?" Kate asked, bewildered.

"You so don't want to know," Will replied shaking his head. "Wait," he said, suddenly worried, "was that a vision of the future or…"

"NO!" Rose and Nikola barked at the same time.

"It was just… ah… a passing thought," Rose said, sounding a little more flustered than before. Kate's eyes darted to Rose and the two shared a moment of eye contact before Kate started giggling uncontrollably and Rosie looked away, small smile playing on her face.

"I can think of only one way to improve that," Kate said quietly and Rosie's eyes snapped back to hers. There was another beat and then Rosie began to snicker.

"We're right here," Will whined, shifting uncomfortably. "Could at least, you know, wait until we aren't all crammed in here."

"You weren't in that one," Rosie said lightly, letting her gaze drift over Henry who looked even more confused than before.

"All of you, be quiet," Helen chastised, sending a meaningful glance towards the silent couple still in the elevator.

"Oh they don't speak English," Rosie said. "They think we're talking about something to do with football for some reason."

Helen looked dubious but, just as Rose opened her mouth to reply, the door sprung open, allowing everyone to surge out into the high ceilinged foyer of sorts. Without uttering a word, Rosie led the way outside. She paused for a minute as the sun hit her face, letting her head fall back as she soaked up the last rays of the sunset.

Everyone else paused for a moment, taking the chance to look around them. Nikola, however, spun on his heel to look up at the large structure that was the airport, humming contently.

"What's he so happy about?" Will muttered to Kate who opened her mouth to deliver a sharp response but was cut off by Rosie.

"Don't you know which airport we're at?" she asked, not opening her eyes.

"Ah, Belgrade?" he answered, confused.

"Belgrade 'Nikola Tesla' Airport," she corrected, opening her eyes to turn and look at the bewildered group.

"For real?" Henry asked, looking impressed.

"For real," Helen confirmed with a small smile, the first anyone had seen since they'd left the Sanctuary. She looked proudly over at Nikola who beamed back at her with all the subtlety of a three year old. Rose rolled her eyes but smiled indulgently as Nikola took another look at the building that carried his name.

"You would have thought, after all these years the novelty would wear off," he said with a smile. "But it doesn't." Everyone rolled their eyes at that and, following Rosie's actions, they all began to walk towards the hire car pick up area.

"Yours does," Will muttered, earning himself a light slap from Rosie who still managed to grin mischievously whilst doling out her reprimand.

"I'm also on the 100 Dinar bill!" Nikola said happily, almost bouncing along. "And you can even buy dolls that look like me! Plus there's that car and that hotel room back in New York AND a handful of statues. Oh, and _shirts_!"

"The self proclaimed master of electricity is impressed by having his likeness on a doll," Rosie drawled. "Shall wonders ever cease?"

"You're just jealous because none of you have an airport named after you. Or anything for that matter," he teased smugly.

"Not true!" Rosie argued lightly. "While I may have no monuments, several tribes have, at various times, considered me to be their deity. And Helen's legacy is even further reaching than yours, if not a little more underground." Her gaze shifted to John for a second and everyone fell silent, words unnecessary. There was an uncomfortable pause while everyone waited for Rose to make the obvious remark but it never came, instead Rosie and Helen shared a moment, Helen smiling thankfully at the other woman who simply nodded.

"And that's not counting any of my historical acknowledgements," she continued after a moment, her tone still chipper but somehow a little strained.

"Please, you and your kind aren't mentioned anywhere," Nikola remarked, willing to cover up the painful gap that had interfered with the otherwise light conversation.

"You clearly haven't spent enough time with the Praxians," she scoffed. "They would know in an instant who I am."

"Praxian's don't count," Nikola protested as they reached a hulking black van.

"Do too," Rosie countered as they all began to load their gear. Their bickering continued throughout the loading process until Helen finally held up a hand.

"Enough," she ordered, looking between the pair.

"But we weren't even fighting," Rosie exclaimed with a grin and Helen rolled her eyes.

"You are such a child," Nikola sniffed as he climbed into the truck and Rosie let out an indignant huff but, before she could deliver the retort everyone could see forming, Helen held up her hand.

"AH! Stop," she said and Rose rolled her eyes but didn't continue to talk, simply stalking around to the front of the van. She clambered up into the front seat, silencing Helen's protest that she should be the one to drive with a withering look.

"Really, Helen," she muttered as they pulled out of the parking lot. "We aren't driving to a map, we are driving to my instincts. Our directions will come from my nose and my head, I really don't think you're the best person for this particular task." Her words were clipped and slightly bitter, meaning that no one even thought about challenging her assumption.

"Whatever you say," Helen murmured, shooting her old friend a curious look as she settled into her seat.

"Hey, here's a question," Kate piped up. "Why don't we just, ya know, zap to where the vamp's are hiding out courtesy of tall, bald and-" John fixed her with a steely glare, "_zappy_," she finished carefully.

"Because I couldn't find them," he ground out angrily, his frustration tainting the air.

"I never really expected you to," Rose said, almost but not quite sounding apologetic. "They are slimy little buggers."

"Watch your language," Nikola chastised with a tut and, as if by magic, the tension disappeared, everyone shaking their heads, finally finding common ground.

"Must have something to do with the genes," Helen called over her shoulder and everyone but Rose had the common sense to stifle their laughter.

"They all have ridiculous taste in fashion too," she added with a grin. "Was that in your blood Nikki? Or did you have to learn it all by yourself."

"I can't wait to find them," he said sulkily. "Perhaps then you'll see some sense."

"Improve your fashion sense you mean," Kate added.

"When we rise again, you'll all pay for this impudence."

"Impudence?" Rose chortled. "Don't know the meaning of the word."

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><p><strong>SOON I SHALL OWN A TESLA DOLL! PRAISE BE TO EMMY1512 :D<strong>


	16. Observations

**Now, if you read this a certain way, you might go "AHH! SHE'S TURNED INTO A MAGNITT SHIPPER" which is just not the case. I am pointing out a friendship that we all know existed and am not implying that anyone is going to be jumping anyone else's bones. Alright? Alright.**

**Now, this chapter is dedicated to starrynight398 because she is not only visiting a tre cool place but also because I'm a bit dud and have been neglecting to update the Should Have series. I'm trying, I promise but uni is mean. **

**Thank you those reviewing. I sound like a message recording with that, I know but honestly it is amazing to get feedback :)**

**xx**

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><p>The drive was long, slow and bumpy. No one spoke, a strange tension descending over the group. Normally, just before a mission as big as this, Henry was babbling nervously, Will pretending like it was no big deal while Kate became even more snarky than normal. Instead, they all sat silent, crammed together on one side of the van, Nikola and John on the other. Rose, it seemed, had very little idea of where she was going and, while they may have thought she had little experience driving a van like that they were in, Helen knew better. Considering the back routes they were taking, she was grateful for the other woman's skill, well aware that anyone else probably would have had them rattling around like sardines on the pockmarked roads.<p>

Just as the last vestiges of sun disappeared over the horizon, Rose began to hum softly, a melancholy tone that Helen didn't recognize.

"I didn't pick you for a Top 40's kind of girl," Kate called out after a few moments and Rosie chuckled.

"After my shown affinity for Lady Gaga? How could I be anything else?" Rose called back and suddenly, the mood lifted.

"I don't suppose you brought some CD's or something?" Kate asked.

"Even if we did, we don't have any means to play them," she called back as they hit yet another pothole, making them all bounce violently in their seats. "Though I could sing, if you'd like."

"God no, anything but that," Nikola deadpanned and John chuckled.

"Can we not antagonize the driver please?" Helen called back to them as they hit another rough patch.

"I'd listen to her if I was you," Rose called as they swerved around the corner.

"Bloody hell," Helen muttered as she grabbed the dashboard. "Are you sure you know where you're going?"

"Well, right now I'm taking us to the inn just over that hill," she said as the swung around another corner. Helen tried to speak again but, as the road became even more formidable, she gave up on the idea. They were all silent for the next few minutes as they slowly navigated their way towards the tiny inn.

Pulling up outside, everyone gave a sigh of relief, glad that they hadn't wrapped themselves around a tree as they clambered out into the chilly night. Rose skipped ahead of them all, knocking on the unremarkable looking door at the front of the building. The door opened and Rose began bouncing up and down slightly, rubbing her arms as if for warmth as she began to speak in rapid Serbian to the old woman in front of her. The woman originally looked unimpressed but, as Rosie began to speak more emphatically, gesturing to the van behind her, the old woman softened, wiping her hands on her patchwork apron before pulling Rosie into a hug, patting her back soothingly as she looked over at the others with sad, pitiful eyes. Rose pulled away, sprouting a few more rapid Serbian phrases before turning around and bounding back to the group.

"Grab the bags, we've got rooms," she whispered proudly, winking as she grabbed a handful of gear before turning back to the old woman. Sharing looks of confusion, the others did as she instructed, hauling their gear inside, dumping in where Rose had. As the door shut behind Kate, the little old lady began babbling away, hugging and stroking everyone in a gesture of comfort.

"Et. Es. Vurry. Sad. Abut. Yor. Frunds," the woman said haltingly, smiling broadly before sighing heavily. "I. Vull. Gut. You. Fooood," she promised before turning on her heel and waddling from the room.

Everyone looked at Rose.

_So I may have told her that our friends went missing a few weeks ago and we're here to find them_, she said mentally.

_Rose!_ everyone heard Helen scold.

"Well how else was I going to explain all our bags and gear," Rose hissed under her breath, rolling her eyes before turning and grabbing a few of the offending bags. "They're a little short on rooms tonight, I'm afraid," she continued as everyone else grabbed the rest of the gear.

"I take it that means there'll be bed buddies involved," Nikola said scathingly as they began to climb the rickety stairs in the corner.

"Yes Nikola," Rose sighed, shaking her head slightly. Eventually, after a rather precarious journey up what appeared to be a staircase held together by determination and nothing else, the emerged on a dark landing.

"Kate, Henry, you take the one down the end," Rose instructed, flicking a key towards them. " And Will, you and John can take the room just here," she continued, rapping her knuckles on the door to her left.

"Woah, wait!" Will began to protest with an uneasy look towards Druitt. "I mean, no offence or anything but couldn't I bunk with Henry?"

"Should the worst occur," Rose said sternly, hands on hips, "Henry can transform and protect Kate while John is perfectly capable of doing the same for you." Her glare, though muted through the dark was effective in silencing Will's protests.

"So that just leaves us," Helen said uncertainly as she looked between Nikola and Rose.

"I can't tell you the things going through my head right now," Nikola said with a saucy grin and both Helen and Rose rolled their eyes.

"I don't need to sleep, Nikola and you need very little so you and I shall take turns standing guard for the others," she explained patiently and Nikola pouted.

"My idea was more fun."

"Nikola," Helen said warningly, casting a glance towards a very tense looking John.

"We aren't here to have fun," Rose snapped, turning on her heel and marching towards her door. "I suggest you all get cleaned up before the caretaker comes back to take you to dinner," she ordered before stepping through, shutting the door firmly behind her.

Will, Henry, Kate and Nikola all shared confused looks but Helen seemed saddened by something while John remained stony faced, staring at Helen.

"She's right," Helen said a after a pause, "we need to go get cleaned up. Nikola, can you take Henry and Will down stairs now and see to dinner. Kate, John and I will get our gear unpacked and meet you down there." Everyone murmured their ascent before quickly dispersing and heading to their assigned rooms. Nikola had just reached the door to what would undoubtedly be a very cramped room when Helen caught up to him, laying a hand on his arm.

"Let me," she said. Nikola made a face but nodded and sighed, pulling away to stalk angrily down the corridor. Shaking her head, Helen pushed open the old wooden door and stepped through, unsurprised to find Rose sitting on the edge of the bed, back ramrod straight in a way that Helen had never managed to perfect.

"Thank you for that," the younger looking woman said softly.

"My pleasure," Helen joked, walking towards her. "I always enjoy putting Nikola in his place."

"Don't do that," Rose spat, standing up and spinning around, glaring at Helen through the weak light from the bedside table.

"What?" Helen asked, taken aback.

"Don't pretend that you enjoyed that. You're pissed that not only did you have to make Nikola leave but now you're stuck dealing with my 'childish behaviour'," Rose said mockingly, daring Helen to disagree.

"That's because you are acting like a child," Helen countered, hands on hips.

"So now I'm not allowed to be upset by Nikola's ridiculous innuendo?"

"Not when you've shown aversion to it in the past, no," Helen said firmly, taking a few steps towards Rosie.

Shooting Helen a dirty look, Rose spun around to stalk over to the window, muttering under her breath.

"What was that?" Helen demanded, feeling more and more like a mother.

"I said what's the bloody point!" Rose roared, turning around. "What's the bloody point of being good and doing the right thing when it feels this bad?" she asked fiercely, gesturing wildly. Helen felt a peculiar mix of fear and pity, knowing exactly what the furious woman was talking about.

"Hmm?" Rose prompted mockingly. "Come on Helen, you've got all the answers so tell me, what's the point of all this if, ultimately, it's going end in heartbreak?"

"Rose, please," Helen said softly, surprised when the other woman crumpled, falling onto the window sill and burying her face in her hands.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, swallowing audibly. "I know I've been an absolute pain."

"Understatement," Helen said quietly and Rose laughed softly. "But, to be honest Rose, I just want to know why?"

There was a beat as Rose stared up into Helen's face, eyes searching for something. Helen braced herself for the odd sensation that always accompanied Rose's adventures into her mind but the gentle probing never came.

"Can we just not?" Rosie asked, sounding defeated. Her eyes were guarded and, as she stepped back, Helen could see that this was not a conversation that was going to go anywhere. Shooting Rose an exasperated look Helen turned on her heel, stalking from the room, unsurprised when Rosie followed quickly on her heels. Silently the two walked out of the room, down the stairs and right into the midst of their rather bemused looking travelling companions.

Despite the tension from upstairs, Helen found herself almost laughing at the scene in front of her and she could even hear Rosie's muffled giggles. Nikola, it seemed, had made fast friends with the elderly woman who had shown them in and she was now hugging him tightly, speaking in rapid Serbian. Nikola's arms were all but flailing as he tried to keep up with what was going on. He was replying to her in rather halting Serbian although that could have had something to do with the fact that he seemed to be having a hard time breathing despite the fact that he required very little oxygen. And the idea that he could throw her across the room if he so desired seemed to have slipped his mind.

As a few more fast paced and tense words slipped through his lips, Rosie was unable to control her laughter any longer. All but snorting with laughter, she turned around, bracing a hand on Helen's shoulder as she bit her lip. Helen shot her a quizzical look and Rose looked up at her eyes dancing with merriment.

"He decided to elaborate on my story of lost friends," she whispered with a grin. "But telling her that he had volunteered for this mission in the hopes of rescuing his beloved's dying father was maybe not his smartest move."

"Most egotistical though," Helen quipped with another look over at the still flustered looking Nikola. The elderly woman had released him now and he was awkwardly straightening out his suit and blushing slightly as he shot a traitorous look at Rose and Helen.

"Don't worry Nikki, you look adorably crumpled," Rose said flippantly, spinning around and striding past him. "Plus, I'm sure your _beloved_ can make up for your ruined suit." No one needed to see her face to know that she was smirking widely. Nikola for his part set his jaw before stalking after her and into the pub attached to the tiny inn.

In a matter of minutes, they'd all convened in the pub, huddled around a small, roughly hewn wooden table crammed into a corner. The room was dark and smelt vaguely of beer and cigarettes but the food put before them was warm and filling. Plus the bottle of vodka slammed down into the middle of the table made the strong flavours palatable after a nip. Not that Helen would let them have a drop more than that.

"I need you all functioning at your peaks tomorrow," she said curtly, snatching the bottle from where it sat between them all.

"Plus that stuff is just plain nasty," Rose said, wrinkling her nose as she stuck out her tongue. "Have some tea instead."

"Oh you two need to spend some time apart," Nikola whined, gesturing between Rose and Helen. "You aren't even British and you're pushing tea on us!"

"Hey! I got my citizenship," Rosie retorted.

"Really? When?" Helen asked, intrigued. Last she knew Rose wasn't even officially alive on most records.

Rosie looked confused for a second, as if Helen should have know the answer to that question but, as understanding dawned over her face, her partially opened mouth snapped shut. "I needed to buy a house and they wanted proof that I existed," she said with a guarded shrug of her shoulders. "After getting a birth certificate it just felt right."

Helen eyed her warily but before she could say anything, Rose slipped off her chair with a broad grin.

"I'm going to see if I can learn anything from the locals," she said with a wink, running a hand through her hair before sauntering over to an empty seat at the bar. One which was, rather conveniently placed next to the only mildly attractive man in the room. Even from across the room, the flirty smile and suggestive body language told a story Helen didn't really need to see. Turning her attention away from the young woman and her figure hugging outfit, she looked over her team. Henry, Will and Kate were all huddled in the corner, talking quietly amongst themselves. Nikola had his eyes trained on Rosie and the look in his eye made something in Helen's gut clench painfully. Pushing away the sensation without fully analysing it, she looked towards John, his imposing figure sitting slightly away from the rest of the group and she was not surprised to find his eyes trained on her. She smiled faintly before diverting her gaze to plate before her.

While she was glad he was here, something about his presence always gave Helen the chills. The conflicting emotions he brought out in her were frightening to say the least and, while she kept them all nicely bottled most of the time, seeing Rose's almost inability to stop antagonizing the man made her wonder what it would be like to truly let go and have at it. Probably not well, she acknowledged and she knew it had nothing to do with her British roots. The prudishness that was most often associated with her nationality and era of upbringing was something that, for the most part, she'd overcome. Well, not entirely but she had learnt early on not to let feelings get in the way of fact as hard as it may be. She'd never managed to have the ability to say it as it was but she was also incapable of sugar coating the truth when it really mattered.

_Walking contradiction_.

Helen smiled. _Of course, you never can leave me alone, can you?_

_I like to multitask, what can I say?_ And Helen could almost hear the mental shrug. _Plus you have a most alluring mind. Unlike that of any other human I've ever encountered._

That was new. Helen had always known that the way in which she was able to communicate with Rose was a little different to others but-

_It's more your awareness to it that is unique, _Rosie explained. _But it's big and ephemeral and complex so we can discuss it later. Plus you're distracting me from my 'fact-gathering mission.'_

_Be careful Rosie, please don't provoke him anymore than you already have_, Helen asked softly, shooting a quick glance at Nikola who seemed to be bristling with animosity. Rose said nothing and the silence was a little alarming for Helen. She could see the new level of tension in the girl's body but her flirty smile was still in place as she tittered away in Serbian. Sighing Helen turned once more to her barely eaten meal.

"She's trouble," John's silken voice cut in to her train of thought.

"Inevitably," Helen agreed and John chuckled.

"And the reactions she can cause are just as dangerous," he continued, subtly looking over to Nikola, raising an eyebrow in silent query. Helen smiled but said nothing, lest those conflicting emotions come to the surface again. She and John had always been collaborators, staying up late trading theories and ideas as to the true nature of people or their work or just of life in general. They rarely needed to even verbalise such thoughts and this was no exception. He knew the observations she had made just as she knew those he had made. The corner of his mouth lifted and she raised an eyebrow. His head tilted and her eyes narrowed. He looked towards Nikola's still full glass of wine and she pursed her lips ever so slightly. Simultaneously they both smirked ever so slightly before looking away from each other, discussion had, conclusions reached.

And all of a sudden Helen felt lighter than she had in while. This is what she had missed most about John, the almost complete synchronisation of their analytical minds. They had always been in tune, had worked together almost seamlessly. Of course, she'd experienced such an understanding with the others but, in their youth, there had been times when she'd only had to look at John to burst out laughing at an observation he'd pointed out to her. Sure she and James worked perfectly together in a lab, she and Nigel had moved around each other seamlessly in the field and she and Nikola always just knew what the other was about to say but it was the dual analysis that John was able to provide her critical mind with that had always been intriguing to her.

John, for all his evils, was and always had been her equal in a way that the others never really understood. It was what had attracted her to him in the first place. Well, that and the brooding dark looks she'd been partial to in her youth. Of course, the element of danger he presented had long since lost its appeal but the silent communication made her feel that spark of friendship for John she'd thought long since extinguished.

"Finished deciding how I'm feeling?" Nikola sneered, shooting Helen a dark look whilst pointedly ignoring John and she felt a tinge of guilt. She knew Nikola hated it when she began to read into his body language because, nine times from ten, she was correct in whichever assumption she'd made. As much as Nikola liked to believe he was some wild thing, she knew him by heart and could pretty much always make sense of how he felt at any given time. For example, now, he was furious and she recognized it to be a dual anger. A small part of his displeasure was directed at the way she reading his emotions in his eyes but the larger part was directed at Rose who was still giggling and simpering at every second thing the young man at the bar said.

Nikola's face softened after he searched her eyes for a second.

"Have no fear, love. I shan't take my frustrations out on you, as much as I'm sure you'd enjoy the fruits of such labours," he whispered, leaning across the table to pat her hand before winking salaciously at her. With a smirk to cover his anger Nikola stood up, straightened his jacket and crossed the now bustling pub. Coming to a stop at Rosie's elbow and shooting the young man receiving her attentions a dark look, Nikola laid a hand lightly on Rose's shoulder. He spoke curtly to the man though the exact words Helen could not make out over the din. Rose twisted in her seat, eyes flashing as she glared up at Nikola in a way that would have crippled a weaker man. But oh no, Nikola it seemed, was not to be so easily deterred. His hand slipped down her shoulder to grab her elbow, all but hauling Rose from her stool and Helen didn't need to hear what Rose said to understand the gist of it.

Her jaw was set defiantly as she glared up at Nikola. She shook off his hold and began to prod him in the chest as she threw what was undoubtedly a good talking to at him. Nikola it seemed, was taking it in his stride, cold eyes glittering down at her dangerously. As she continued to rant at him, Rose stepped closer, fisting a hand in his shirt, jerking him closer so that, as she continued to hiss what Helen suspected to be insults at him, their noses were almost touching.

Finally she paused to take a breath and Nikola took his chance, answering each of her barbs as his hands closed on her shoulders which only served to make matters worse. Rose gave him her most treacherous look before shoving him backwards roughly before spinning to speak curtly to the young man she had been flirting with who had watched the exchange looking confused. Then, before the man could respond, Rose spun back around, grabbing Nikola by the arm and throwing him in front of her, shoving him harshly towards the door. Not even looking over his shoulder, Nikola took the hint, striding from the room with an angry sneer on his face. Rose stomped out behind him, hands balled into fists, hips swaying as her head bowed slightly and, as she passed the table, a low growl slipped out.

They were either about to go off and indulge in passion filled evening or one of them was going to die, Helen decided as the door swung shut behind them.

"That was one hell of a lover's quarrel," Will commented, raising his eyebrows. Kate and Henry nodded in mute agreement as Helen caught John's eye. He smirked, reading her observation in her face before he took another drink.

"I'd think it prudent to wait for a few minutes before heading upstairs," he advised over the top of his cup.

"Agreed," Helen said, taking another bite of her rapidly cooling food.

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><p><strong>DUN DUN DUN! Shiiii is gonna go down...<strong>


	17. Overheard

**Merry Easter! Or Happy Sunday! Or I hope you get lots of cheap chocolate when the stores open tomorrow! **

**Alright, I wanna put out a little disclaimer here. Things are about to get a bit confusing. And childish in some ways. But, as always, I have a plan. I'll try and get another chapter up before next Sunday because I know this might be a cliffhanger y'all will want to hang me for... And I want to say I'm not particularly proud of this chapter. It's just... you know... So I apologise for it's blah-ness.**

**And we'll just pretend the shortness of this chapter makes up for the ridiculous length of the previous one...**

**xx**

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><p>It was a good hour before anyone had the guts to venture upstairs and even then, Henry somehow roped them into going up as a group. Silently they climbed the stairs, trepidation swirling around them as they all tried not to catch each other's eye.<p>

"I bet she's a screamer," Kate whispered to Henry, causing him to stop half way up the stairs, choking , it seemed, on air. With a wicked grin, Kate yanked on his arm, making the group move once more.

"Can you please not say that?" he whispered back. "I've known her since I was a kid." Kate chuckled before opening her mouth, only to shut it once more as they came to a stop at the top.

Loud voices were yelling in a mixture of several different languages. Listening carefully, Helen could hear the mix of German, French and Serbian in which Rose was making accusations but she was surprised to hear that the responses came only in Serbian. She'd heard them fight before but usually they stuck with English. Rose had only once previously began ranting in such a cataclysm of languages and that had been after a group of young children had been mercilessly killed when she and Helen had tried to intercept the shipment of young abnormals. And even then she'd only done it for a few minutes. She must be truly livid, Helen decided apprehensively. This night was going to get a whole lot longer.

And then, something odd happened. There was a tiny pause in Rose's diatribe before she switched to English.

"You have no right to even try and tell me what I can and cannot do with my life!" she bellowed at Nikola and everyone, now understanding her words flinched.

"And you have no right to come here, practically drag me to bed and then discard me for the first piece of eye candy you see!" Nikola yelled back.

"Oh, and pray tell, when, exactly did I discard you? I tried to talk to you all day and each time you've done nothing but rebuff me!" Rose screeched, slamming something against something else to produce a rather dull thunk.

"I was calling to you all night!" Nikola bellowed and it was obvious his seething anger from downstairs had turned into something darker. "You said nothing! Every time I tried to ask you what was wrong you blatantly ignored me in favour of acting like a harlot!"

"Don't even try and put this on me! I am no harlot as you well know!" Her words were biting, losing volume but gaining venom. "Keep your jealousy in check, Nikki," she added in a sneer.

"I am not jealous!" he roared at her, the significant increase in volume startling the unwilling listeners. She knew she ought to usher her team and John back down stairs but, at this point, Helen was transfixed. "But when you bed me, I expect you to keep your knees together for as long as you're in my presence. You know, at least try to pretend that you won't jump anything with a damned pulse!"

The sound of flesh slapping flesh echoed down the corridor but, before anyone had a chance to register such a noise, Rose began once more.

"You have no right to tell me what I can and can't do! You have no claim on me whatsoever, Nikola and you've made it painfully clear that you don't want one placed on yourself either!"

"So I really mean that little to you? You think of me as nothing more than a good screw and nothing more?" he questioned incredulously. "Of course I have a damn claim on you Rose! We have been friends and lovers for longer than most people live!"

"Please," she scoffed angrily. "I'm nothing more than a convenience for you! You can't claim to actually want me when I can hear that you don't!"

Nikola let out a loud growl which was quickly followed by the sound of wood snapping.

"Your twisted imagination is no excuse for your overt display downstairs!" he growled after a pause.

"It's not an excuse Nikola, I did as I please because I can and you have neither the want nor the means to stop me." Her words were little more than a disdainful sneer and Helen could picture the utter contempt that would be on the woman's face.

"Why this sudden streak of promiscuity?" Nikola questioned, his sneer matching hers. "Why now, after you spend every available minute screwing me against every available service do you decided to seduce another man in front of me? What the hell is the point of it?"

"Because it doesn't matter!" Rose burst out. "Because none of this, you and I, what we were, none of it damn well matters!"

"How can you say that?" Nikola bellowed, his voice reverberating through them all.

"BECAUSE YOU DON'T LOVE ME!" Rose screamed in agonizing reply, her voice thick with anger as it drowned out everything else.

And then there was silence.

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><p><strong>Yeah, yeah... I know... Just stay with me :P<strong>


	18. The Truth Doesn't Really Set You Free

**Isn't it big? And huge? This one is kinda the biggie in terms of Rose and Nikola and Helen. I do hope it explains some of the questions that have been posed. As some of you may have figured from my replies to reviews, I'm rather fond of this chapter. It's not my best work but it's more the writing of it that I'm proud of. It took a while and much tweaking but this one has been in the works since I came up with the story line.**

**Also, can anyone pick the crazy fangirl? Yeah, you'll get that later in this chapter... :P**

**xx**

**PS: The full title of this chapter is "The Truth Doesn't Really Set You Free (Even if that was your goal all along)" but it won't all fit :(**

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><p>For what felt like eternity, the only sounds came from the pub below. Even the bystanders held their breath, waiting for Nikola to say something, anything to break the silence. Helen briefly wondered if they'd resorted to mentally screaming at each other but, as the door to the room swung open and Rose came striding out confidently, she reassessed that thought. Not looking any of them in the eye, Rosie didn't break her stride, continuing through the small group and down the stairs, disappearing below. And then it hit her, Rose didn't even look remotely surprised to see them standing in the hallway. Eyes widening in understanding, Helen ignored the questioning gaze of her team, spun on her heel and booked it down the stairs.<p>

Damn her and her melodramatic tendencies to hell, Helen cursed internally. She may not have the full story but Helen was pretty certain she didn't need it. She'd known Rosie for long enough to have a fair idea of why she allowed herself to release such personal information in not only a language that everyone could understand but at such a volume. More than that, why she'd acted so unprofessionally whilst on an important mission. Damn it, she cursed once more, looking around the rather sparse room that constituted both a lobby and entrance way for the pub. Rose was gone. A quick survey of the pub told Helen that her friend hadn't returned to the rather unattractive room which left only one alternative.

Wishing she'd had the foresight to grab a coat, Helen walked to the front door, wondering just how far she'd have to go this time. Stepping out into the brisk evening, Helen was surprised to find her old friend barely a hundred metres from the front door. She was sitting in the doorway of the nearest shop, shoulders slumped, hands braced on either side of her, legs stretched out in front of her. The stoop on which she sat, although plainly visible from the front of the inn, was dark enough and tucked away enough that, from the small window of the room in which they were meant to be staying she wouldn't be visible.

Before she'd taken more than two steps down the dirt road towards the ramshackle building, Rosie's head lifted, eyes connecting with Helen's, small smile wavering on her lips. She shuffled to the side slightly, making room for Helen, wrapping her arms around her knees as she drew them to her chest.

"You're in a mood," Helen commented, her boots crunching on the gravel.

"Quite," Rose sniffed, ducking her head to the side as Helen got closer. Helen chuckled weakly before coming to a stop in front of the other woman. Rose looked up at her, a defiant gleam in her eye as she wiped away a single bright red tear on her cheek. Letting out a heavy sigh and shaking her head, Helen eased herself down to the small space beside her old friend. The two sat in silence for a moment, staring up into the inky sky above them.

"It's cold out," Rose commented softly, breaking the semi silence that had fallen over them.

"Get's that way at night," Helen said, sneaking a glance at her friend.

Rosie sighed, shifting slightly so that she was a little further away from Helen.

"Are you going to tell me why?"

Rose turned her head to the side, laying her temple on her knees as she made a face.

"Has it happened yet?" she asked in return.

"Firstly, I asked first and secondly, has what happened?" Helen quipped, making Rose smile faintly.

"I guess not then," she said, turning back to look out across the small street.

"You know I haven't got a clue what you're talking about, right?" Helen said and Rose chuckled.

"There will come a time Helen, when you feel that you must hide away from the world for fear of being too much of an influence and when that happens, come find me. You mustn't hide from me," she said softly.

"Ah, being purposely cryptic then? I can work with that," Helen allowed, getting a mite frustrated by the lack of answers she was receiving. "If you immediately know the candle light is fire, then the meal was cooked a long time ago."

Rose laughed softly for a moment.

"You cannot tell the depth of the river, until you see the bottom," Rose announced somewhat grandly, earning herself a soft chuckle.

"Don't run with scissors?" Helen tried and, with a giggle, Rose shuffled over to lean against Helen's side.

"Something as simple as 'the early bird catches the worm' probably would have worked too," Rose quipped, using her shoulder to nudge Helen lightly.

"I was never one for such elaborate turns of phrase," she responded with a smile and Rosie chuckled before a much more comfortable yet still strained silence fell over them.

Helen could feel Rosie's presence in her mind so she knew all the questions she had to ask and all the assumptions she'd already made but Rose was making no attempt to answer or clarify anything. Instead she was passively observing Helen's reaction to her lack of reaction which, considering the way in which these inquiries were usually conducted, gave Helen cause for alarm.

"Are you going to answer my question?" she asked. After having asked mentally several times and receiving no response, her last ditch effort was somewhat desperate and a measure she'd never before had to use.

"Lightning flashes, sparks showers, in one blink of an eye, you have missed seeing," Rose said softly, moving away and severing the majority of their body contact.

"Can we stop with the metaphors?" Helen asked, turning slightly so that she could look at the smaller woman.

"This would all be easier if it had happened for you," Rose muttered under her breath, brows furrowing in frustration.

"But it hasn't. So unless you're going to explain your cryptic statement, I'm going to need you to actually use your words."

Rose turned and gave Helen a sad smile.

"You know why," she said softly, turning away once more. Sensing that she was about to get up and leave, Helen reached out and grabbed her shoulder, making sure that she stayed put.

Rose shot her a quizzical look but, after a beat, relaxed back a little, stretching out to look up at the sky once more.

"Nights like this, when I was little, my father used to take me out into the middle of the field to show me the stars," she said softly, eyes glazed over in memory. "We'd just lie on our backs and watch the sky, drawing connections between them to make pictures. I remember when I first moved to the city after I was married off, him telling me that, if I ever felt lonely, all I had to do was sit out on the balcony and draw pictures in the stars and he'd be with me."

"I never knew you were married," Helen whispered, clutching onto one of the several pieces of information she'd never heard before.

"I think I was maybe 17 at the time," Rose said, wrinkling her nose as she tried to remember. "I don't remember my husband terribly well, only that he was much older than me but very nice none the less."

Again silence fell only this time Helen did not feel the need to fill it. Rose was obviously working up to a point and she wasn't about to try and knock her off course.

"It's odd, I have all these odd memories of my life, bits and pieces about my brothers and a woman who I think was my mother but, amongst all this, I can't find my actual name," she said softly, annoyance colour her tone. "From the moment I was reborn I remember everything. In varying levels of detail, of course but if I search, it's all there. But with this..." she said, gesturing vaguely before sighing once more.

"And you know what's even more odd? It's only been in the years since I met you and your boys that I actually wanted to know what my name was." She said it with a smile but her sadness was clear. "Until I met you, I didn't actually care about my humanity or who I was. I might have had children for heaven's sake and I wouldn't have a clue!" It was Helen's turn to smile a bittersweet smile. Long ago, shortly after Ashley was born they'd discussed children and Rose had admitted, though she'd certainly tried, she didn't think she could have children. She'd said that, to the best of her knowledge, none of her sisters had ever had children and, as such, her hopes weren't high. Of course Helen had offered to run the necessary tests but Rose had declined, saying that she'd settle for being Ashley's crazy aunt instead.

"I miss her too," Rosie said quietly, interrupting Helen's thoughts and they both smiled softly once more. The two girls had always been close, regardless of Helen and Rosie's somewhat unconventional relationship. She'd been by Helen's side when she'd been in labour, had stayed up to help with late night feedings and, as Ashley had grown up, Rose had worked to help Helen control the headstrong young girl. The two had been close friends and, whenever Ashley had been furious at her mother, Rose, when she'd been around, had talked the girl down from whichever homicidal rage had taken over her.

It had been strange when Ashley began to look older than Rose but Rose had never been deterred. No matter what she stood her ground, maintaining that air of authority that had always been hers. She'd always managed to tread that fine line between friend and parental figure but always cited that, no matter what, Helen's word was law.

Once or twice Rosie had expressed concerns that she was overstepping the boundaries but, in all honesty, Helen had enjoyed having someone else to help on occasion. Rose's visits were sporadic and followed no kind of routine but whenever she was needed, she was there.

"Don't go getting all nostalgic on me," Rose quipped, breaking into her stream of thought but the joke fell flat as she gave a strained smile. "I thought you wanted an answer."

"I do," Helen said carefully, not looking at Rose. There was a pause as Rose drew in a deep breath.

"My point was that, until I met you, I never really felt the need to be anything more than the creature hell bent on destroying any remains of the vampires. Sure I bowed to tradition, marrying here and there as a way to survive but never had I actually wanted to be tied down." She spoke quickly, as if forcing the words out with awkward gesticulations. There was much Helen wanted to say but, sensing that Rose wasn't dabbling in her mind, she remained quiet, counting on the girl's need to fill the silence.

"You made me feel human, Helen. And that is something for which I can never thank you enough," she said quietly, looking over at Helen shyly. "I owe you much more than my life, Helen and to think that I... that I am knowingly hurting you, _knowingly_ stopping you from being happy..." she trailed off, sounding faintly disgusted with herself.

Silence fell once more and Helen sensed that Rose was not going to be forthcoming with any more information.

"I still don't understand," Helen said quietly. "What does that have to do with you picking a fight with Nikola?"

"It has everything to do with it," Rose answered sadly, propping her chin on her knees once more.

Helen puzzled over the situation silently for a moment. None of it made sense. Rose and Nikola had always worked well together, they were the perfect counterpoint to the other's faults. Why Rose would essentially tell Nikola that none of their past meant anything to her-.

"Oh."

"Exactly."

"You're trying to let him go."

Rose sniffed delicately, biting her lip as she studiously ignored Helen's gaze. She sighed softly and then it was Helen's turn to bite her lip. She was trying to let him go, trying to push him away so that he'd-

"Stop mucking around and actually tell you how he feels," Rosie finished softly. Helen looked over at her friend with a heavy heart before reaching out to lay a hand lightly on her arm.

"You don't have to do this. There's no point to it Rose. Nikola and I..."

"No!" Rose said, jerking away from Helen as she glared at her angrily. "No, don't you do _this_! Don't pretend Helen, don't try and tell me you don't care about him the way he cares about you."

"Of course I care about him," Helen said soothingly. "Nikola is one of my oldest and closest friends and I care about him deeply but that's all there is to it. There can't be any more to it."

"God you're so stubborn!" Rose huffed, turning away from Helen once more. "Bloody sadist..."

Helen was unable to hold back a chuckle at that. "And what exactly would that make you?"

"Deranged."

And with that, all the tension evaporated, leaving the two laughing under their breath at their antics.

"We are a twisted pair, aren't we?" Rose asked as the laughter subsided.

"You more than me," Helen said with a smirk. Rose scoffed and shoved Helen before grinning broadly.

"Just you wait," Rose said. "I'd bet anything that when you're as old as me, your sanity will start to go just the same."

"And by then, you'll be so out of it that you won't be able to poke fun at me because of it."

"Are you two going to sit out here all night?" a voice from the door way called and both women twisted to peer through the night at whoever had interrupted their conversation.

"We're coming Johnny, have no fear," Rose called back before hauling herself and offering Helen a hand. With one last unguarded smile Rose turned and started to stroll back towards the inn, Helen trailing behind ever so slightly. She was surprised when Rose sauntered past John without so much as a word and, considering John was still watching her, she gathered no mental words were traded either.

"Helen I-," John began as she walked past him.

"Go to bed John," she said softly, giving him a small smile before walking to where Rose was waiting by the stairs. She had little doubt he'd heard most of their conversation but right now she had no intentions of dealing with the possessiveness she'd begun to tire of. Together she and Rose walked slowly up to the dark corridor down which their room was. As they reached the top, Rose paused for a moment, looking to Helen in fear. Helen smiled softly and gave the other woman a small push down the corridor.

"It'll be fine," she said quietly and Rose chuckled half heartedly.

"It's a good thing I don't need sleep," she quipped, as they walked the rest of the way down the corridor. Helen had expected her to hesitate once more but, as her hand landed on the door knob she twisted it and pushed the door open decisively. Nikola, it seemed, had been awaiting their return and was standing, arms crossed, dark look on his face in front of the window.

Helen opened her mouth to try and placate the still fuming vampire but, before she could get a word out, Rose was striding across the room, coming to a stop inches from Nikola. There was a moment of silent communication as Nikola uncrossed his arms and then they were kissing softly. Rose's hands on his shoulders, Nikola's tangled in her hair, holding her close. With the moon as the only source of light in the room, the embrace seemed, to Helen, intensely romantic and over rode the sharp pain in her gut the sight caused. Just as suddenly as it started, the kiss ended and Rose stepped away from Nikola who was looking a bit dazed.

_Sorry_, Rose said with a sheepish smile as she grabbed Nikola's hand, pulling him over to the bed. Turning from him, Rose climbed onto the middle of the bed, kicking off her boots as she settled on top of the thin blanket.

"Come on," she groused, gesturing to Helen before twisting to grab Nikola, pulling him down to the bed.

Helen raised her eyebrows in silent question but, as Rose gave her a small smile, she gave in, stripping off her thin jacket and boots before lying down next to Rose. As Rose reached over and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling them closer together, Helen smiled. It was not the first time the three of them had slept like this and something about it was faintly reminiscent of that first night back they had met. Rose had been given her own room but, shortly after Helen had jumped into her own bed, the girl had crept into the room, dragging a rather confused looking Nikola behind her. Without a word she'd poked Helen until she rolled over enough to allow both her and Nikola enough space to curl up and sleep.

"Only back then, you weren't nearly so easy to persuade," Rose whispered with a chuckle.

"Could you both be quiet, some of us actually do need sleep," Nikola muttered and Helen felt rather than heard Rosie's laughter.

"Sorry Nikki, we'll let you get your beauty rest."

Nikola grumbled and growled but snuggled closer to the pair of them, one hand creeping about until he found Helen's, taking a hold of it tight.

Although she didn't really feel tired, Helen soon found it hard to keep her eyes open as a small yawn slipped through her lips.

"Don't fight it Helen, you need to rest," Rose whispered and that was the last thing Helen heard before she slipped into a surprisingly deep sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>So, yeah, no resolution but I hope that maybe clears a bit of it up... Hopefully? Maybe? Possibly not... And 'stache cookies to all who pick out what my fangirlyness did to that chapter :P<strong>


	19. Strange Bedfellows

**I bought a bed today. Not sure why that's appropriate fodder for an AN but anyway... Though it does fit with the title XD**

**There are a bunch of reviews and messages sitting in my inbox and I will get to them ASAP, promise. I'm just a bit behind in other stuff at the moment.**

**Thank you to those who reviewed the last chapter, I'm really pleased you enjoyed or could at least sort of understand where Rose was coming from :P Y'all are gems and between the lovely reviews and Adam Hills FINALLY winning a Logie, today has been a good day!**

**xx**

**PS: EVERYONE HAS TO GO BERATE EMMY1512 AFTER READING THIS. SHE OWES ME SOMETHING BECAUSE IT IS THE LAST DAY OF THE WEEK! DO IT! COOKIES (and maybe a quicker update if she complains about the berating) IF YOU DO!**

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><p>The next morning Helen woke up still clutching Nikola's hand. It seemed, sometime during the night Rose had left the bed and, quite unintentionally, Helen and Nikola had drifted closer together. They were both on their sides and while nothing more than their hands were touching, as Helen opened her eyes, she was able to count Nikola's eyelashes. Fighting the urge to jerk away, Helen forced herself to move slowly, shuffling back from him and detangling their fingers as she looked around the room, unsurprised to find Rosie standing by the window, wings out stretched as she soaked up the early morning sunlight.<p>

_He's already awake, there's no need to be so careful, _Rose remarked casually, not turning from the window.

_Did you have to tell her? I was quite enjoying that._

Helen, while having had much experience with the three way version of this communication, started slightly at Nikola's unexpected comment.

"We've both been up for hours Helen, he's trying to trick you," Rose said, turning to face the bed with a wide smirk in place.

"You're no fun," Nikola pouted before rolling off the bed, stretching out his shoulders. "Where was the harm in a little snuggling?" he joked before heading to the small ensuite bathroom, grabbing his duffle bag as he went.

"The poor woman's never been the brightest first thing in the morning, you have to go easy on her," Rosie called with a smile and Nikola chuckled before partially shutting the door.

"It's because she refuses to drink coffee," he advised before the sound of running water filled the air.

"Would you two stop ganging up on me?" Helen grumbled, trying to shake the sleep from her bones. Normally she was quick to rise but after Rosie's mental lullaby (because there was no other way to describe the sensation) she was still feeling groggy.

"Now see, if you hadn't stopped sleeping with me, you might have been used to it by now," Rose joked, shaking her finger at Helen in mock scold. Helen rolled her eyes and tried to clear her head.

"Try the coffee," Nikola called. "It's the only thing that helps."

"Firstly, shut up," Rose sang back, "and secondly, we already know there's more tea in her veins than blood, coffee might give her a heart attack."

"Can you please be quiet?" Helen said with a sigh, trudging over to her duffle bag as Rose strained her shoulders to retract her wings.

"Aw, ickle Helen's got a headache," Rosie taunted with a fake lisp. She concluded the statement with a dramatic pout but, as Helen rolled her eyes at the woman's antics, she couldn't hold it anymore and burst out laughing.

"Are you going to get dressed?" Helen asked, raising an eyebrow as she raked her eyes up and down Rose's thin singlet and tight combat pants. She was still barefoot despite the cool morning and the amount of skin she had left uncovered made Helen feel cold just looking at her.

"Well if that isn't an offer I'll eat my hat," Rose said darkly, lips curling in a tiny smirk. Helen said nothing, simply shooting her a look of pure annoyance and Rose chuckled. "Oh you're too easy some days," she commented with a wink. "And I am dressed. Don't you like it?" With a lazy grin spreading across her face, Rose slowly turned around, arms thrown wide in invitation of perusal.

"Oh you two have all the fun," Nikola complained from where he leant against the bathroom doorway. Helen turned to berate him for playing Rosie's childish games but, for the first time in her life, the sight of him took her breath away. His hair was wet and slicked back from his face in a manner reminiscent of the way he used to wear it only now a few wet strands were fighting their confines, instead flopping over his forehead and Helen's hands itched to push the errant locks back into place.

His skin was practically luminescent, faintly red from the heat of his shower and his cheeks didn't wear the dark stubble they had when he'd rolled out of bed, leaving the creamy skin looking as soft as silk. The top few buttons of the dress shirt he wore were undone, allowing her gaze to drop from his smirk down the length of his thin neck to the bulge of his Adam's apple and on to the almost shining skin of his chest. Long, dexterous fingers were quickly doing up the last few buttons, obscuring her oh so lovely view and it was only Rosie's mental cough that stopped her from letting out a disappointed mewl.

_You haven't seen anything,_ Rose promised, her mental voice growing husky as scattered and heady memories flittered into Helen's mind. The pictures were indistinct and rushed but the general idea was clear and it had Helen all but salivating.

"I suppose you want a shower now?" Nikola queried blandly, buttoning his cuffs before grabbing the elegant yet sturdy black jacket he'd chosen for the mission.

"Thank you," Helen said, hoping her voice didn't sound as strained as she smiled.

_He hasn't a clue_, Rose supplied with an evil mental chuckle. _I suspect if he did you wouldn't be having that shower alone._

Rolling her eyes, Helen grabbed some clothes before heading to the bathroom, being terribly careful to lock the door behind her. With Rosie in her mind and Nikola's own thoughts always in the gutter, Helen wasn't going to be taking any chances. Those two were trouble alone and it had been years since she'd had to deal with their combined forces. To be honest, she didn't know if she'd be able to handle it quite as well as she had in the past.

Then she realised something. Rose. And Nikola. Alone.

_Rose?_ Helen sent feeling tentative for the first time in a long while.

_Don't worry, I won't tell him what you were thinking_, Rose said with a small chuckle. Though she was kidding around, Helen felt relatively certain that none of her more embarrassing moments would be on display for a certain cocky vampire.

_But if you don't hurry up, I may require another shower_.

Helen shuddered.

_Have you lost your sense of humour Helen? You used to be able to tell when I was pulling your leg._

Shaking her head, Helen tried to tune out Rose's mental chatter as she went about her shower.

* * *

><p>By the time Helen had emerged not ten minutes later, Rose and Nikola were nowhere to be found, only a small piece of paper on the dishevelled bed to guide her.<p>

_Pack your bags and meet us by the car. We'll get the children._

Chuckling, Helen tossed the note back to the bed before gathering up the last of her things. In less than a minute she was heading down the corridor, bag over her shoulder. She was just about to start down the stairs when she heard someone calling her name.

"Magnus? Hey, wait up," Will called as he jogged sleepily towards her.

"Will," she greeted with a smile, noting that while he did have his bag slung over his shoulder, he'd missed a few buttons and, as such, his top was rather lopsided.

"Sleep well?" he asked with a yawn.

"Surprisingly enough, I did," she said with another smile and he raised an eyebrow.

"Rosie's little sleeping trick?" he guessed dryly and Helen chuckled.

"It's quite something," she admitted and Will made a pained face.

"That's one way to describe it," he allowed before yawning once more.

"I take it you didn't get much sleep then," she said, eyeing her obviously exhausted protégé apprehensively.

"My roommate wasn't nearly as fun as yours."

She snorted at that.

"Really?" Rose interrupted from a few steps below them. "I always found John's company to be inexplicably tiring. And I don't even need sleep." The small woman chuckled before winking and gesturing for the pair to follow her downstairs. "We've been waiting on you two," she chastised as they reached the small group of sleepy travellers standing by the door. Kate and Henry gave bleary smiles but Nikola and John were standing off to the side, deep in conversation.

"Boys," Rose called. "Tactics need to be discuss but it's pointless to do so before we've actually found them." With an unreadable look, John and Nikola broke apart, coming back to stand with the rest of the group.

"Right, team huddle," Rose joked, gesturing for everyone to step forward. "Kate, Henry and Helen, you go pack the van. Nikola, take Will and head down the main street. There's a bakery about a hundred metres down the road. Grab some breakfast for everyone and, if possible, lunch as well. We've got quite a drive ahead of us and I'd rather stop as infrequently as possible."

"Does this mean you know where they are?" John asked quietly.

Rose nodded, smiling tightly. "They're closer than I originally thought but it's still a fair distance from here. But we can discuss that later," she said, glancing around nervously. "Meet in the van in ten minutes." Everyone nodded, albeit tiredly before splitting up.

When finally only Rose and John were left standing in the sparsely decorated room, she smiled at him uncomfortably.

"We need to talk."

"That sounds ominous," he quipped as they walked towards the little old woman who was finalising their bills.

"It is," she answered firmly after handing over a small stack of bills. Grabbing his elbow lightly, she led him over to the corner where a pair of old sofas sat. "From what I can tell of their fortifications, you won't be able to teleport in," she muttered quietly. "I can't give you an accurate picture of what the cave system they're using looks like so I think it would be foolish to try such an action but, if worst comes to worst, you should be able to teleport out."

Her small face was creased with concern but she seemed unable to meet his eye.

"Rose?" he asked warily. "What aren't you telling us?"

"No matter what happens today John," she said looking up at him boldly. "No matter what you have to do exactly as I say. I hope it won't come to it but, if I tell you to take any of the others and leave, you need to do so, don't ask questions and don't argue with me."

John cocked his head, staring down at her for a second but, as he opened his mouth, Will popped his head through the door.

"You two just about ready to go?" he asked grumpily.

"Dr. Expendable get back here and get into the damn van!" Nikola called loudly from outside and Will rolled his eyes before moving back outside.

"Just get in the car Tesla. I'm not buying into that whole 'car sick' thing," Will replied and Rose chuckled, standing up and straightening the heavy duty jacket she'd thrown over her thin tank top.

"Those two are worse than us," Rose muttered and John chuckled from behind her.

"They haven't tried to kill each other," he offered.

"Yet," Rosie replied with a cheeky grin over her shoulder. "There's still time."


	20. Roadtrip

**Another short one but we're getting close to the climax now! Are you excited? I'm excited! And super excited because I wrote the climax for the sequel the other day! WEEEEEEE! Almost makes up for the fact I start work at 5am tomorrow... Review and make me feel better when I get home? :D (I'm shameless, aren't I?)**

**xx**

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><p>The drive was quicker than the previous day but no less tense. It was barely even midday when they pulled into Leskovac, Rose insisting that they all take a quick break. Her words in the van had been terse and set the others on edge. The few questions she deigned to answer had been met with sharp replies and scathing sarcasm should further clarification be required. Helen had tried to take over the questioning duties but, after being snapped at one too many times, she too gave up, choosing instead to sit back, arms folded and eyes dark.<p>

The twenty minutes out in the sun of the bustling city did them all good though and, when they all met up in a coffee shop near where the van was, Rose was actually smiling and laughing. They all heard her mentally apologise but what was most appreciated was the fact that her quips were once more delivered with a smile.

"As much fun as this is," she said with a fond smile for Kate and the rather tasteful dirty joke she'd just made, "we do actually have something we need to discuss."

Instantly the others were in business mode, leaning in around the small table.

"Whatever happens today, I need you all to listen to me," Rose continued quietly with a meaningful glance at John. "I'd like to think I've a fair idea of what we're walking into but, as ever, I can't be certain and things will most likely be less bloody if we work smoothly."

"Less bloody?" Kate echoed quietly and Rose smiled tightly at her.

"I know, it's not much but it's all I can offer you," she said quietly, looking down into the cup of tea she'd been drinking. "This mission is dangerous in the extreme," she continued, "and I promise that I only came to you all because I felt I had no other option. I'll never be able to apologise enough for that."

"Don't be silly," Helen chastised firmly. "If you hadn't come forward it's unlikely we'd even have gotten this far."

"True," she allowed. "But if I hadn't come forward there'd be a better chance of you living to see your next birthday."

"Stop being so morose," Helen ordered, sending her a sharp look. "We've got a job to do and I'd much prefer it if we could at least try to do it before reducing ourselves to the pit of despair you're already wallowing in."

Rosie chuckled and shook her head but said nothing, simply taking another sip of tea.

"How far are we from wherever it is we're going?" Will asked with a yawn.

"I'd say about twenty minutes by car but then we're in for a bit of a hike I'm afraid," Rose said genially. "I vote that we finish our drinks and head off again. I've got plenty of food packed into the car and, if we walk quickly, we might be able to set up a campsite before nightfall should we need to."

Will rolled his eyes but, seeing the slight glare from Helen, wisely kept his complaint to himself as they all gathered up their belongings and once more headed to the van

The next leg of the drive was almost as uncomfortable as the first despite the free flowing conversations. Everyone, it seemed, was nervous in their own way and it wasn't until they came to a rather abrupt stop that the nervous and occasionally vitriolic chatter died down.

It took them only a few minutes to unpack their gear, remaining silent as they did so. They'd parked just off an old dirt track, partially obscured by rather dense foliage. The sun was fighting a losing battle with the thick canopy over head and while they could see the small town they'd just driven through, it most certainly was the middle of nowhere. The ground was dry, crunching under their boots and the air was thick with the smell of the lunch time special from the tiny town. Despite the cool air the second they were out of the car, Rose stripped off the thick jacket she'd been wearing, opting instead for the form fitting tank top she'd sported earlier in the day.

"Manoeuvrability," she said with a shrug when Henry raised his eyebrows. "There's no point in the cumbersome layers if you can't feel the cold. Now, who has the map?"

"That'd be me," Will piped up, grabbing the maps in question from the back of the van, moving around to lay them out on the bonnet so that everyone could get a closer look.

"Well, now we're here I can narrow the perimeters of our search," Rose said, grabbing a pen and drawing a smaller circle on the map. "We're here," she said, placing a small cross on the map and tapping it once. "John, you can teleport Helen and Kate over here," she continued, indicating the far side of the circle. "Then you, Will and Nikola can start the search from over here and Henry and I will head west for a few kilometres and then join from here."

"Wait, we're splitting up?" Helen asked. "Considering the abilities of our foe are you really sure that's wise?"

"We are simply looking for an indication of where they're hiding out," Rose explained. "Under no circumstances is anyone to actually engage them."

"But what are we looking for?" Kate threw out. "I mean, vampires are hardly likely to have a sign saying secret lair this way?"

"They're underground, I know that much," Rose said with a chuckle. "Nikola, Helen and I have a fair understanding of both Praxian and Vampiric technologies so spotting something shouldn't be a problem but these are vampires and, as such, are a little too intelligent for my liking. The likelihood that they've left behind anything obvious are slim but there has to be a way in, I'm certain of it."

"Praxian?" Will echoed. "What does Praxis have to do with anything?"

"Vampires are scavengers," Helen cut in. "They've used the technology of others before and considering how little time they've had out and about on the surface, it's unlikely they'll have had enough time to create all they'll need to tear us to shreds once more."

"Must you all be so hard on them," Nikola muttered under his breath as he lugged a pack onto his back. "Despite some of their less than admirable traits, vampires aren't all that bad."

"Yeah, if you look past the world domination and undeniable blood lust," Helen scoffed.

"And exceptionally bad taste in clothing apparently," Kate muttered under her breath to a sniggering Will.

"You are the exception to the rule," Rose said with a condescending smile for Nikola "But I would like to suggest that we focus on destroying the rules with the aid of everyone's favourite exception." With a goofy little smile she turned away, grabbing up her pack and the maps as she did so.

"Well, shall we?" she continued, tossing a jaunty smile over her shoulder before heading off, a far too enthusiastic spring in her step.


	21. On All Fours

**Title is not what you think.**

**Tonight's chapter is dedicated to everyone's second favourite HAP (because Henry will always come first, sorry) HAPsdontkill who actually went through and reviewed each and every chapter earlier this week! And to ZaraShade who caved to peer pressure :D **

**Also, I'm just going to do a happy dance right now because I am on the last freakin' chapter of the sequel to this :D Cheer everyone! It has made me giddy all day :)**

**Also (double also, ick), these are all occurring at the same time. Keep that in mind or prepare to be mightily confused...**

**Hugs for all the reviews, they're amazing and you are all spoiling me!**

**xx**

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><p>"Any idea as to what we're looking for?" Kate grumbled as they waded through the surprisingly thick under growth.<p>

"Haven't a clue," Helen replied, trying and failing to restrain her glee. That was, until she tripped over a root, barely catching herself before a nasty little face plant. Straightening herself out, Helen reminded herself to stay on task. This was a mission and she needed to keep in mind that it was a particularly dangerous one.

"You get off on this, don't you?" Kate huffed moodily, shoving roughly at a low hanging branch only to have it swing back and hit her chest.

"On what?" Helen asked, picking up the pace.

"This, missions, endangering your life for the good of mankind," the younger woman offered darkly.

"Are you honestly telling me you don't feel it too?" she replied, smiling at Kate briefly before turning her attention back to the compass in her hand. They'd started out with the GPS but as the trees became more and more densely packed they'd begun to lose the signal. At the time she'd silently thanked whatever had made Henry cautious enough to pack the more old fashioned equipment.

"All I feel is the need for a shower and a proper nights rest," Kate groused. "Henry snores like you wouldn't believe."

"Oh come on Kate," Helen enthused, a little taken aback by her own excitement. "You're enjoying this every bit as much as I am. You crave the adrenaline kick."

"Yeah but walking into a vampire den isn't normally how I get my jolly's."

Helen said nothing, focusing instead on the ever darkening forest around them.

"But I suppose you're right," Kate allowed with a sigh. "There is something... you know..."

"Invigorating," Helen supplied with a smile.

"You're a walking thesaurus," Kate quipped, rolling her eyes and Helen chuckled good naturedly.

"But it is, isn't it."

"Best kick this side of legal," Kate replied with a cheeky grin and Helen laughed once more.

"Some days I wonder if I ought to keep a better eye on you," she said, shaking her head as Kate scoffed.

"Reformed mercenary for hire, doc. And don't you forget it," Kate said with another grin.

"Wouldn't dream o-... Did you hear that?" Helen asked urgently, voice dropping to a whisper.

"Hear what?" Kate asked, instantly on edge. Both women drew out their guns, standing back to back as they pointed their guns out into the dark forest.

* * *

><p>"All I'm saying is that you're meant to be the vampire here," Will explained carefully. "So with all that immortal strength you should be at least able to carry your own damn pack."<p>

John chuckled and Nikola scoffed.

"How many times do I have to explain to you Huggybear? I need all my faculties focused on tracking down the more irritating branch of my extended family and you, with all your youthful vim and vigour are more than capable of carrying two. Though I suppose you could always ask old Jack here for a hand if you so require."

Nikola smirked at Will as he blanched, eyeing a rather peeved looking Druitt cautiously.

"Your manners are nearly as foul as those of you less than faithful mistress," John said softly to Nikola. "Don't think I'm past running you through again if you test my patience much further."

"Oh can it Johnny," Nikola said flippantly, striding ahead through the cool forest. "We all know you're just jealous that Helen prefers the attentions of me to you. Hell, she'd probably even take Rose over you at this point."

The low growl that slipped from John's mouth was quiet but menacing none the less.

"Let's not do this here, yeah?" Will interjected uncertainly. "I mean, can we focus on killing the vampire before we kill each other?"

"You forget, young William that before us _is_ a vampire. And it would be very much my pleasure to kill him," John muttered, flexing his fingers.

"And then Helen would rip you limb from limb," Nikola replied, sounding bored as he spun around to face them, hands on hips. "So can we please get back to the task at hand before I'm forced to call mother on both of you?"

Will sighed, John growled and Nikola rolled his eyebrows, opening his mouth to say something only to shut it abruptly again. His eyes flashed to John's warily and the other man nodded in agreement. Instantly both spun on their heels to face the eerily silent forest around them.

"Hey!" Will cried in shock. "What's goin-."

"There is something out there," John whispered in his ear, not relinquishing the hand he'd wrapped around the other man's mouth. Will's eyes grew wide in fear but he stopped fighting, listening for anything other than their own breathing.

The sound of a twig cracking echoed out from behind them and, as one they spun around to face the source of the distraction.

* * *

><p>"So?" Rosie asked with a grin, raising her eye brows as she jumped over a log.<p>

"So what?" Henry answered uncertainly.

"So are you going to tell me about her?" she enthused with a grin. Henry blushed slightly and she giggled at his unease.

"About who?" he tried and Rose rolled her eyes, reaching out to push at his shoulder.

"Erica."

"Wasn't planning on it," Henry admitted with a sheepish smile and Rose let out a scoff.

"Were too," she said, tapping the side of her head as she grinned once more. "Out with it. I want to know everything from her shoe size to her favourite Rolling Stones song."

"Is this why you paired us together? So you could interrogate me?" he accused sulkily.

"So what if it is," she said with a shrug.

"Shouldn't we be concentrating on the mission?"

"The other's are fine," Rose said dismissively. "Helen and Kate are bonding over adrenaline and the boys are bickering about whether or not they ought to kill Nikola. So, out with it. What's she like?"

Henry groaned, shoulders slumping in defeat as he side stepped a few bulging roots.

"Oh come on Henry," she insisted. "You knew you were going to have to tell me eventually."

"Rosie," he started with a sigh.

"Yeah, yeah, you really like her and you don't want me scaring her off, I get it but I promise I won't. Not this time I swear."

He pulled a face but remained silent.

"I always thought that..." Rose began softly, eyes downcast as she bit on her bottom lip. "I mean I know how you felt about... Ash and I'm just... pleased that, you know..." Henry blushed at the words, sending her a small smile before focusing once more on the uneven terrain.

"I miss Ashley," he admitted quietly. "It's not the same without her around."

They were both silent for a minute, the only sound made by their boots as they continued to walk. Then, after a while, Rose returned to her original train of thought only this time on a more mental level.

_Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please..._

"Ugh, quit it," Henry exclaimed. "You'll give me a headache."

"Then tell me about her," Rosie replied with a mischievous grin as she continued her mental pleas.

Henry sighed and held up his hands in defeat.

"Alright then!"

Rose fell silent, waiting for him to continue.

"Erica's... she's great," he said softly. "She's really funny and great with computers and... and she's..."

"Gorgeous," Rose supplied confidently. "You'll have pretty babies."

Henry flushed but grinned at her words.

"I don't get to see her much but she's pretty much fantastic."

"She better be," Rose said firmly. "And she ought to know I'll come and give her what for if she even so much as thinks about breaking your heart." He snorted at that and Rose grinned, pleased with herself.

"I think she'd like you," he said after a minute.

"Ooo, does this mean I get to meet her?" she enthused with a wide smile. "I promise I'll behave, I won't say a word about that time I walked into Helen's lab and found you-."

"AH!" Henry cried in alarm.

"Oh right, it's 'the Unmentionable'," Rosie muttered, rolling her eyes. "I don't see what the big deal is though. Really Henry, it's perfectly natural to want to-."

"NO!"

"Who'd have thought that the men of this age would be more prudish than those of several previous centuries?"

"Can we please focus on finding the killer vampires?" Henry moaned.

"You'd really rather stumble across them than discuss what I caught you and-."

"Yes!" he said forcefully and Rose chuckled.

"Oh you poor thing, look how red your cheeks are!" she exclaimed with a grin. "Poor Henry's all hot and bothered..."

"Stop, stop, stop!" he cried, shuddering at her words. "Vampires, please?"

"If you insist," Rosie muttered with a sigh. "Though I still don't see why you're so on edge. Helen was perfectly under-."

"You told Magnus?" he wailed, looking positively terrified.

"Of course not," Rose said with a chuckle. "I just wanted to see your reaction."

Henry shot her a dark look but just as he opened his mouth to respond his eyes widened in shock.

"Did yo-."

"Yes," Rose breathed, her eyes wide in similar fear. "On all fours, Henry," she instructed gruffly, turning and dropping her pack before sprinting into the forest. Henry whipped his pants off and, in a matter of seconds was racing ahead of her, ears attuned to the muffled screams that had been heard both internally and externally.


	22. Break and Enter

**Short, I know but I wanted it separate from the last chapter and separate from the next and I'm not one to add fluff simply for the sake of hitting my preferred target of a minimum 1500 words. If I get a start on the third story of this series sometime this week, I'll update again with the next chapter :) I pinky swear!**

**I offer you Teslen cookies in thanks for your fantastic reviews and can only hope you continue to enjoy the next few (rather dicey) chapters!**

**Also, sorry for fangirling... *looks away ashamedly* **

**xx**

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><p>"They can't just be gone," Henry said again as they scoured the forest one last time. "I mean how on earth would someone capture Druitt alive?"<p>

"With a great deal of skill," Rose muttered, closing her eyes as her brow furrowed in concentration.

"And you can't hear them?"

"I can," she said slowly, making a face. "But not properly. They're all unconscious at the moment which isn't helping matters."

"Unconscious?" Henry echoed nervously.

"Unconscious but alive," Rose confirmed, biting her lip and spinning around to face away from Henry. "This way," she said firmly, pointing dead ahead.

"Are you sure?" he asked uncertainly. "Shouldn't we go back and double check where Kate and Magnus's packs were?"

"No," she said, starting off quickly in the direction she suggested. "There isn't much time. This will all be easier if we can get there before they wake up."

"Where's there?" Henry called, hurrying after her.

"Let's find out, shall we?"

* * *

><p>"Bingo!" Rose called excitedly, sprinting off into the forest.<p>

"Wait!" Henry cried, racing after her. They'd been searching for an hour and except for a few choice curses as they tripped over rocks, they'd said nothing, focused instead on finding exactly where the others had been taken.

"Hurry up," she called over her shoulder, coming to a stop next to a large pile of rocks. The large grey boulders were stacked in a suspiciously neat circle, tiny glints of purple sparkling out at them in the dim light from between the rocks. "We're in," she said with a grim smile, hands on hips as she cautiously surveyed the rocks.

"You mean this is it?" Henry asked, dropping the packs they'd collected on the ground by their feet. "We're just going to walk in the front door and ask for our friends back?"

"Oh this isn't the front entrance, we passed that _ages_ ago," she said with a shrug, bending down to take a closer look. "Sneaky buggers," she muttered, flicking at some of the purple crystalline substance that appeared to be gluing the rocks together. "This is why I couldn't get a strong enough lock on them," she explained at Henry's confused look. "It's the same resin they use to preserve themselves, the one that blocks me."

"Isn't that stuff supposed to be hell to break?"

"Which is why it's a good thing we've got these," she continued, grabbing a pair of stunners from the bags. "Helen managed to rig them to get a constant beam and it helped to break it up. Since it's only thin here we should be blasting through it in no time."

"And then what? We sneak in and try to destroy a nest of vampires? We don't have anything that's going to be remotely effective against them," Henry said, brow furrowing.

"Leave it to me," Rose said with a queer look, eyes clouding before she set her jaw, pulling apart the stunner with ease before reassembling and aiming the weapon. It took them only a few minutes to create a space large enough for them at which point they both stepped back, admiring their handy work.

"How far down do you think it is?" Henry asked, eyeing the dark of the cavern they'd uncovered.

"Not too far, I hope," Rose said apprehensively.

"Why?"

"I haven't spent nearly enough time in the sun recently. I'd say if we're down there for more than 7 or so hours I'll probably collapse."

"What?" Henry cried, startled at the revelation. "Collapse? What do you mean collapse?"

"Just that. If I go for too long without sunlight I'll fall into a coma of sorts," she said with a shrug.

"Coma?"

"How do you think I got to be 1600 years old?" she asked, cocking her head to the side.

Henry floundered for a moment, unsure of what to say. "Is that what you meant when you said you had a nap?" he asked, narrowing his eyes and she grinned.

"Roughly 700 years, I believe."

He gaped.

"Careful, the wind might change and then you'll be stuck that way," she quipped, turning back to the rocks. "You needn't worry though, if I think it's going to happen, I'll climb straight back out. You'll have to stay put, hide out for a while while I get my strength back, of course but you should be relatively safe, this appears to be an old entrance, one they gave up on using a long time ago."

"And you're telling me this now?" Henry asked, eyebrows shooting up.

"It shouldn't take us nearly that long," she said soothingly. "From what I can tell the others aren't that far below us. They're starting to wake up now which makes it a little easier to follow them."

"God, I hope you're right," Henry said, shaking his head as they grabbed the climbing harnesses from their packs.

"Allons-y!" Rosie replied with a grin and Henry pulled a face. "It's a-."

"No, I got that. I just never picked you for a fan," Henry said, shaking his head at the revelation.

"I've always had a thing for older men," she replied with a grin. "Even better if they're immortal, tall and thin with messy brown hair."

"And here I was thinking you'd be interested for the plots," he said with a mischievous grin.

"Hey, a girl's got to pass the time somehow."

"Oh just stop there. Before I take that where you intended for me to take it."

"Stop insulting my television preferences and let's go save the day," she reprimanded with a grin.

"Whatever you say Captain," he grumbled.

"Oh don't even get me started on Jack Harkness..."

"Rose!" he whined and she laughed.

"Another time then."


	23. The Devil Incarnate Wears Leather

**Look! I lived up to a promise! Hell must have frozen over...**

**For the next few chapters a knowledge of Awakening would be most beneficial though not strictly necessary if you don't mind being a bit confused. **

**Also, I have already asked some people for these but I figure I could make a general call out to all those who have stuck with this story so far. I am searching (for this series) for moments of Helen's life that you'd like to see. They can be long, short, happy, sad and involve anyone you want, including Rose. Any ideas would be welcomed completely and as I've already told those who've given suggestions, I shall try and use as many as I can :) **

**Thank you to everyone who takes the time to review, honestly I can't thank you guys enough!**

**xx**

* * *

><p>"Alright, I concede," Nikola spat, glaring down at the rather amused looking vampires. "They really do have the worst taste in clothing."<p>

"Bondage gear really only belongs in one place," Kate agreed with a hiss, struggling.

"Let us go and I'd be more than willing to give you some fashion advice," Nikola offered with a grimace. "Though I can't help but think my talents would be lost on you."

"Remember what I've said about not antagonizing Tesla?" Will said. "Well the same thing applies to all vampires, yeah?"

"The young one is right," one of the vampires said, stepping forward to peer up at his captives. His dark hair was slicked back from his pointed face, the head to toe hand-stitched leather ensemble only adding to the clichéd vampire look. "Now tell us, how did you find us?" His voice was cultured, distorted slightly but the cadence was clipped and polished.

"Why don't you tell us why you snuck up on us, drugged us and then strung us up like the Praxian snobs?" Kate said, rolling her eyes.

"Interesting," the male mused. "Humans have become very insolent in the time since we last walked the earth. This should make things far more fun."

"We've also decided we don't take kindly to slavery," Helen said, narrowing her eyes. "So things aren't going to be nearly as easy this time around."

"Never the less, we shall prevail," the male said, turning away to look to the other vampires standing around the cavern. Many were looking on with only mild interest while others were flat out ignoring their visitors. "You all do possess rather keen intellect though," he continued, strolling towards a buxom young woman carrying a tray of roughly hewn goblets filled to the brim with a red, viscous liquid that looked an awful lot like blood. "Perhaps you shall be able to help us."

"I'm part vampire and I wouldn't help you if my life depended on it," Nikola hissed, narrowing his eyes.

"Coming from the man whose single goal in life has been global domination, that should hurt," John growled, still fighting his restraints.

"And would it kill you to be a little more original?" Kate groused. "I mean, aside from the whole 'dressing like a vampire' thing you've got going, the underground cavern thing is over done. Plus you're not even using your own technology. These," she said, indicating the cuffs that kept them suspended above the ground, "are so the same thing as the Praxians death shocky thin-." She trailed off suddenly, craning her head to look to Helen.

"You've got to be kidding me," Will muttered under his breath.

"I doubt they'll be as kind as Ranna was," Helen supplied grimly.

"And that's saying something," Kate muttered, swaying slightly as she tried to shake off the bonds.

"Silence," the male commanded, turning to sneer at them, pausing to give John a twisted grin. "Don't try and teleport out of here," he advised. "Unless of course you enjoy the idea of being torn to shreds by our shields."

"Helen?" John asked tightly, not looking away from the cruel smirk on the vampire's face.

"It's possible," she said softly, glancing warily around the cavern.

"And you thought provoking the vampires was a bad idea," Nikola said scornfully to Kate.

"I like this one," the male said, walking towards Nikola with a smirk. "He has spirit. Perhaps I shall take him to be part of my court as thanks for defeating Afina." A soft, smug chuckle flowed around the room, all the vampires turning to stare at Nikola appreciatively.

"Though she was right about something," the male said softly. "You are a half breed, unfit for the title of vampire." Nikola growled at them, eyes changing colour as his teeth grew but before the transformation could complete, he let loose a scream of pain.

"Nikola!" Helen cried in alarm, watching as her friend sagged, head bowed as he sucked in large gulps of cool air.

"Perhaps you ought to rethink the side you've chosen Nikola," the male said softly, stretching out his name menacingly. "You may be a half breed but even I can see the potential you possess. You'd fit right in with our serf army here," he continued, gesturing to the group milling about absently. While they were all dressed in leather, the care taken with each outfit varied from individual to individual, making it obvious that this male was in charge, his outfit far more decedent than many of those behind him.

Nikola merely growled through heavy pants, glaring at the man who had the audacity to chuckle.

"And you, Helen Magnus," the male continued, wandering along the line. "You have contacts that will be most helpful."

"Never in a million years," she swore, glaring down at him with contempt. He merely chuckled, clasping his hands behind his back as he strolled towards were Will and Kate hung. His shoulders were broad, stretching the leather to the very edge of its limits but as his coat reached rather narrow hips, it flared dramatically, giving them all a good look at the large knife strapped to one leather clad thigh.

"Perhaps if I was to take one of you comrades here as a play thing you might be a little more agreeable," he suggested softly, looking up at Will with a serene smile. Carefully he raised one hand, beckoning absently to the group behind him. In a matter of moments a beautiful young woman came striding forward. Her outfit was as striking as his, her leather corset emphasising her hour glass figure in a way most reminiscent of Afina, not to mention the slit in her skirt that reached her alabaster hip. Shaking her long blonde curls over her shoulder she stood by his side, resting her head on his shoulder and smiling up at their prisoners softly.

"We still haven't caught the others, love. But we will," she said, her breathy voice tinged by the throaty distortion.

"Never mind," the male cooed, wrapping an arm around her waist, pulling her closer until she was all but wrapped around him. "The female outside may think she can defeat us but I shall take pleasure in spilling her blood."

"But you promised me that privilege," the woman whined, pressing a kiss to his throat.

"Perhaps we can share," he soothed, softly caressing her back as he continued to watch Will.

The woman mewled softly in protest, glancing away from Will to pout up at the man, green eyes large.

"You can choose one of these for your toy," he allowed, placating her as if she were a child. The woman sighed but straightened up, moving to look more closely at Will. She cocked her head to the side, making a face.

"This one is unacceptable," she said, her voice growing cold as she moved away from him. "The girl is better but I feel she'd put up too much of a fight."

"Damn straight," Kate growled, fighting her restraints yet again. The woman chuckled indulgently but continued to meander as if strolling through a shopping centre.

"This one I like," she said quietly, smiling up at a seething Druitt. "He is more refined than the other two. And his blood will taste sweeter than the others. It's only a pity he won't last as long as that woman would."

"If you so much as lay a hand on her..." John ground out and the woman chuckled.

"You know, for once Johnny, I think we're on the same side," Nikola added scathingly. "He may have a thing for blondes but I think even you are too classless for his tastes."

"While I disagree with the way in which that was delivered," John muttered, sending a glare towards Nikola, "he is right."

"I will break you," the woman said with a nonchalant shrug before grinning up at him. "It will be my pleasure to take both of you as my own."

"Take me and let the other's go," Helen said suddenly, staring down at the woman with nothing but contempt in her gaze. "I can tell you everything you need to know and I won't die in the process."

The woman laughed freely at that, most of the other vampires chuckling quietly at her words.

"You have an attachment to them, don't you?" the woman said cynically. "Perhaps I'll take them in front of you then, as punishment for attempting to destroy us."

"Now, now," the male said, unable to keep a smile from his face. "There is no need to be so vengeful just yet. We shall wait for the others to be found and brought before us before we take our pleasure."

The woman pouted at him, clearly displeased at his plan but he simply shook his head.

"Are you not eager to meet the one who believes she can destroy us?" he asked softly and the woman sighed before gliding back into the group of vampires with a haughty shake of her hair. "You must excuse my queen," the male said politely. "She is unused to going to long without a play thing. I must thank you for rectifying that."

"I'd say it was our pleasure but I'd be lying," Nikola hissed angrily, eyes flashing. The male sighed, shaking his head sadly.

"This would all be easier if you'd simply stop fighting. Our reign will be long and glorious and if you'd behave we might be inclined to allow you to see it."

Kate snorted. "Over my dead body."

"If that's what it takes, so be it," the male answered calmly. "Now, if you'd be so kind, I'd-," he stopped suddenly, eyes widening in alarm.

"Can you all hear that?" Helen asked loudly to her team as music filled her ears.

"It's Queen," Will replied, scrunching up his nose.

"What have you done?" the male roared, bring his hands to his ears as he tried to drown out the music in his ears. "What are you doing to us?" Almost simultaneously the vampires stopped what little they were doing, some grabbing at their ears as music filled their heads while others simply glanced around the cavern nervously as if looking for the source of the music.

"Seven Seas of Rhye?" Kate said, scrunching up her nose. "Couldn't they have picked something a little... you know... more fun? I'd have thought they'd have gone for Killer Queen for blondie over there."

"It's not them," Nikola said gleefully, his eyes lighting up as he spoke.

"Bloody drama queen," Helen muttered under her breath.

"You have to admit though, she knows how to make an entrance," Nikola said appreciatively, grinning broadly as the vampires looked around in confusion.

"Surely the element of surprise would have been preferable to this," John said, shaking his head.

"What are you on about?" Kate asked, starting to get frustrated.

"Only she would think of making such a show of our rescue," Helen groused and Nikola chuckled.

"Not the white knight come to save us, but the horse," he explained with a malicious grin down at the fuming vampires.


	24. Drink To That

**No extra chapters this coming week I think. Too much going on in terms of classes so I doubt I'll have much time to work on the next instalment. Sorry to leave it on a cliffhanger but keep in mind (AT ALL TIMES) that I love you all and Nikola and Helen. Remember it.**

**xx**

* * *

><p>"Sorry about the wait," a disembodied voice called out over the top of the music and instinctively everyone looked up to the small opening at the top of the cavern. "We got a bit lost and had to stop to ask for directions but we couldn't find an information kiosk. You really ought to think about installing one, or a map at the very least."<p>

"You've got to be kidding me..." Kate said, rolling her eyes.

"The one and only," Helen acknowledged tightly.

"Drama queen was right," Nikola muttered, shaking his head as he tried to hide his grin.

"Don't quibble, Nikki," she chastised from somewhere above their head, the cavern too high to give any of them a proper view of the tiny hole from which she was climbing.

"How did she get in?" the male roared, turning to face the now cowering vampires.

"You left the back door unlocked," she replied cheekily. Then, suddenly the power keeping them suspended above the floor stopped, sending them tumbling to the floor much to the shock of the vampires.

"How?" the male breathed, eyes wide as he looked around the cavern.

"Now, now Pellex," Rose said, suddenly appearing at the top of the cavern, slowly descending to stand in front of the petrified looking vampire. Her wings were outstretched, guiding her descent, carefully putting her between the vampire and the team still picking themselves up from the hard ground. She smiled broadly and the male stepped back.

"You."

"You know, of all who could have survived that blast, I'm rather glad it was you," she said cheerily. "There's no one else's head I'd rather rip off."

"Nice timing," Nikola said, dusting himself off and coming to stand beside her.

"Yes, well, I'll chastise you about letting yourself get caught later," she replied tossing him a smile before rolling her shoulders, forcing her wings back in.

"And you can explain why you chose _Queen_ for an entrance," he bit back scathingly. "I thought you had taste."

"Oh come on, that was perfect! Didn't you hear the lyrics?" she enthused, turning from the fuming vampire to grin at Nikola. "Plus you have to admit it's catchy."

"Anything the children can pick within a few seconds is rubbish by association," Nikola said. "When we get home remind me to show you what good music sounds like."

"That sounds like an offer if I ever heard one," Rose scoffed, smirking at him as Nikola rolled his eyes.

"Can we get back to the issue at hand please?" Helen called and Rose sighed, shaking her head before flashing her a grin.

"As you insist," she said replied, bowing slightly before tossing a gun in Helen's direction. "Nikola, if you wouldn't mind there's a bag up there that would be rather helpful."

"Why is it that I always feel like your slave?" he asked with a sigh but before she could respond a black bag came falling from the same small opening that Rose had appeared from, dropping to their feet with a resounding thud.

"Isn't he a good human magnet?" Rosie said indulgently, leaning down to scoop up the bag. Turning on her heel she threw it to Will, her face hardening for just a second as they all received a mental instruction.

_Follow my lead._

Without a single word she turned back to the vampires before her, surveying them all with a stern gaze. Quickly Will unzipped the bag to find enough guns for them all and he handed them out, dropping the empty bag to the floor as he tucked the gun into his waist band. He wasn't entirely sure how much use it would be against the vampires but some protection felt better than none at all.

"Where's our friend?" Helen asked carefully, not sure of what had befallen her young HAP son.

"He's having fun with their shield generators. In fact he's the one who managed to undo your electrifying manacles," Rose replied, over her shoulder with an easy smile. "He's fine, don't worry."

"How did you survive?" Pellex hissed, hands balling by his sides as the blonde came to stand behind him.

"Is it really her?" she asked, voice shaky as she glared daggers at Rosie.

"Whiny bitch number 6!" Rose greeted happily, spreading her arms wide as if inviting a hug. "I haven't seen you in... gosh! It must have been at least a millennium. How've you been?"

The blonde growled, letting her eyes go black as her teeth and nails grew.

"Down," Rose commanded sternly and the woman sunk to her knees, grasping her throat with both hands as she struggled to draw breath. She clawed ineffectively in Rosie's direction but eventually gave up focusing instead on her inability to breathe. With a sigh from Rose the woman collapsed to the ground, gasping as she was given back control of her body.

"I take it you know these delightful miscreants," John drawled from behind her and Rose chuckled.

"Of course, where are my manners. Nikola, Will, Kate, Helen, John, may I introduce Pellex and whiny bitch number 6, minions of Afina and vampires."

"Pellex?" Nikola asked, raising and eyebrow as he smirked. "Does that mean what I think it means?"

"It does indeed," Rose replied, turning to face the man in question, crossing her arms as she grinned up at him lazily. "Pellex means mistress or concubine. I'm sure he has a real name but that was the translation we used. After all, you had such a barbaric, painful language and Latin just rolls off the tongue."

"You mean to tell me for all he lorded his divinity over us, he's nothing more than the plaything he wanted us to be?" John asked quietly as he and Helen moved closer to Rose and Nikola.

"Exactly," Rose said with a nod, smirking at the speechless vampire.

"Enough," roared Pellex. "Try and kill us if you will but we have you outnumbered and I know you would not sacrifice yourself or your friends to destroy us."

"You're wrong," Rose said instantly, her voice steely as she stepped forward, barely a foot from the vampire. "I'd give myself a hundred times over if it meant I could wipe you from existence."

"But you would not give your friends," he hissed back, lips curling in a snarl. "I know you and your kind well. You are too human to sacrifice those who stand in your way."

"I have spent hundreds of years waiting to exact my revenge on you and your filthy kind," she snarled, hands balling into fists. "You have nothing but an army of part blood monstrosities who know nothing of fighting. I will destroy you all as you destroyed my kind."

And with that she launched herself at him, hands wrapped around his throat as she drove him backwards. The blonde was one her feet at once, launching herself at Druitt with an ear piercing screech. The other vampires surged forwards, coming to the aid of their rulers. The others drew their guns, firing madly into the oncoming swarm as confusion took hold of the scene.

"Stop!" Rose screamed loudly, fear colouring her tone and the vampires all flew backwards a few steps, seemingly being held at bay by their own bodies. In the centre of the cavern stood Nikola, his lips curved in a deadly grin as he held Helen in front of him, her body on an angle so he could show off his prize.

"Don't," Rose breathed, her body trembling as she stared into Nikola's eyes.

"Sorry darling," he drawled with a smirk.

"You bastard!" John growled, stepping forward and Nikola spun around, keeping Helen's struggling body pinned to his own.

"Not this time old boy," Nikola warned, tightening his grip. "Not if you want her to live."

"Nikola," Helen choked out. "You can't..."

"Have no fear beautiful," he crooned, holding her tightly across his body so she faced out. "I promise if you all agree to leave peacefully you'll live." He sighed. "I do wish this could have ended differently though, you and I really could have ruled the world."

"Tesla, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Kate called angrily, not daring to take a step forward. With one arm around her throat he could easily snap her neck and they all knew it.

"Joining my true family," he announced before turning to Pellex. "I have an intimate knowledge not only of her Sanctuary network but an understanding of how the world works now, I'm your best bet if you truly want to seize control."

Pellex stared at him for a moment before smirking softly.

"Nikki, please," Rose breathed, stepping forward. "Not like this."

"Did you really think I'd agree to this mission?" he crowed scornfully. "That I'd go against my own kind?"

"I'm going to kill him," John swore quietly but he didn't move.

"Me first," Will ground out.

"Not before me," Helen hissed, fighting once more his iron grip. Nikola chuckled, looking down at her fondly.

"Are you sure you don't wish to stay with me Helen?" he asked softly. "We'd have such fun." Her murderous glare up at him was the only answer.

"Drink."

The command came from the blonde and it was ordered with intensity, her eyes boring into Nikola's.

"Drink."

"Nikki," Rose whispered, a plea as she stepped closer to him. Her eyes were wide, begging him to stop without words. Her hands were trembling and she bit her lip. "For me."

Nikola merely smirked, his lips curling into a cruel smile as he lifted Helen higher, letting his transformation take over.

"I've dreamed of this moment for a long time Helen," he said, his voice deep and distorted.

Helen fought as he brought her higher, bending his neck down to drag his nose along the side of her throat.

And then, with one last grin, he sunk his teeth into her flesh.

* * *

><p><strong>Please don't kill me?<strong>


	25. Double Double Agent

**You are all so cute with your belief in me. I honestly expected bricks to be thrown. I like to think it means I've trained you all well.**

**Sorry that this took the whole week but, after this week I should have more writing time. Also sorry if this chapter confuses. I don't know if it's overly clear.**

**Thank you to all those who showed faith in both Nikola's actions and myself. The reviews were kinda nice too :P**

**xx**

* * *

><p>The first thing Helen realised when his teeth sunk into her flesh was that it didn't hurt, not one bit. Instead tendrils of white hot arousal flowed through her body, igniting parts that had no business being ignited when one of her oldest friends was essentially killing her.<p>

She tried to fight his hold on her, thrashing around as much as she could.

_Hold still Helen, he won't drink from you properly._

And now she was well and truly confused.

_Play along please,_ Rose asked calmly though when Helen looked over at her she saw nothing but fear in the other woman's face.

But then all she could focus on was Nikola's lips on her neck, his tongue swirling over her skin, sucking gently as his teeth retracted. She could feel the tiniest pull of blood but the tiny marks he left were healing quickly, meaning that he was essentially just giving her one hell of a hicky. Suddenly Nikola pulled away, pressing a tiny kiss against her pulse point before letting her fall the floor. Aside from the strange bolt of lust she hadn't been expecting, Helen felt perfectly fine and, as such couldn't figure out why she was having such trouble standing up. Her limbs felt heavy and, try as she might she couldn't quite move.

_Hold still_, Rosie hissed. _If you start moving you'll destroy this and then we'll be totally screwed._

Trusting her words, Helen let herself fall limp. She knew her hair was covering the mark on her neck but the light breeze that managed to hit it was making it hard to hold still. She heard Rosie scoff in her head but also heard the sob she let out for the rest of the group to hear. Suddenly Helen was being rolled over slowly, gentle hands holding her carefully. An unspoken threat echoed in her head and Helen decided to keep her eyes shut.

"She's breathing, just," Rose whispered with a sob before Helen was lowered back to the ground. Another set of hands flew to her wrist as someone else carefully propped her up before dragging her backwards.

"Now then," she heard Pellex say from somewhere across the room. "I will give you all one last chance. Join us or die by our hand."

"How about I kill you and then we go on our merry way," Rose snapped. "You're no warrior Pellex, you won't stand a chance. I could destroy you and your army in a heartbeat."

"But you're forgetting that I know your style," Nikola drawled and Helen opened her eyes a crack just in time to see Nikola slink over to the blonde haired woman, wrapping an arm around her waist before nuzzling her hair. "I'll kill you before you can think twice about it." The blonde chuckled, leaning into his embrace and Nikola smiled as Rose growled.

_When I say go, you grab a gun and keep these bloody things from your team,_ Rose said firmly. _Understand?_

Helen sent back a quick yes, her attention still trained on Nikola.

"Oh please Nikki," she spat. "You've never even come close to besting me. You're bluffing and you're terrible at it."

"You know what," he said sarcastically. "I think you're right."

"You'd better give it up then," Rose replied evenly.

The next thing Helen heard was a loud scream and the sickening crack of bone.

"Traitor!" Pellex roared.

_Now!_

In an instant Helen was up, rolling away from Kate and Will much to their surprise, grabbing a gun as she stood directly in front of them.

"That was dangerous," John rumbled from close by and she shot him a quick look, noting that he wasn't surprised by her 'recovery'. He cocked his head and she realised he must have been in on the whole thing.

"It wasn't my first choice," he said, eyes darkening as he glanced to her neck but Helen shook him off, she needed to focus on the quickly unfolding fight. Nikola, it seemed, had broken the female's neck before being over-run by six of the younger vampires. Rose was deflecting punches with a cruel smile on her face, sending several vampires sprawling with a solid kick to the gut. In the mean time, John joined the fray, his hands wrapped around a young man's neck, a menacing glint in his eye as he strangled him. Then a shot rang out from beside her. Turning, Helen realised they were slowly being surrounded.

Setting her jaw she began to shoot. The bullets made the young vampires flinch but the continued to move, closing in with black eyes and menacing teeth.

"John!" Rose yelled over the commotion and he spun on his heel. She nodded towards were Helen, Will and Kate were surrounded.

"The shield," he yelled back but she shook her head, swiping out with claws to slash at the nearest vampire.

_Henry took it down._

And that was all it took. In a second the three of them were standing beside Rosie as she continued to vent her anger on the vampires.

"Grab Helen and Nikola," she called to John once more. "Take them to the Sanctuary and wait thirty minutes before coming back."

"And leave you here?" he replied sceptically, teleporting his fist through the gut of the nearest vampire.

"Trust me," she yelled over the sound of bullets, giving him an imploring look. They both paused for a second in their destruction, a wave of silent communication passing between them.

"Thirty minutes?" he yelled and she nodded before gritting her teeth and landing a solid blow on another vampire's head.

"No less," she said firmly, her eyes clouding over as he nodded at her, disappearing in a flash of red light, reappearing by Helen's side and then Nikola's before leaving completely.

* * *

><p>"No!" Helen screamed, fighting John's embrace the second they landed in her office. "Take us back! Take us back now!"<p>

"I can't-," he started, Nikola cutting him off with a low growl.

"Take us back now!" he roared, stepping closer to John with an evil glint in his eye.

"You've just condemned them to death," she yelled, hands balled by her sides. "Their blood is on your hands!"

"Helen please," John tried, reaching out to her but she jerked away, nothing but cold hatred in her eyes.

"No," she said, voice shaky as she stared at him with wide eyes. "There are more important things at stake than our lives John. How could you do this?"

"Take us back," Nikola repeated, a snarl forming in the back of his throat as his inner vampire came to the surface.

"It was Rose," he almost yelled, glaring at Helen, imploring her to understand. "She told me to, she made me promise."

"Take us back," Helen ordered, her voice dropping to a near whisper that sent chills up John's spine.

"I can't," he said, trying to soothe her. He stepped towards her once more, stopping only when she flinched. "Not for a half hour."

Helen said nothing but she didn't need to, her seething contempt for him was clear in her gaze. After glaring at him for a tense moment she turned on her heel, hurrying from the room.

"Helen!" he called, trying to follow her but Nikola was too quick, stepping in front of him before he'd even taken a step.

"You've done enough damage," he ground out, glaring up at the taller man without a hint of fear in his eye. "Just leave her alone."

"It wasn't me," John insisted angrily. "Rose-."

"It doesn't matter now," he spat, cutting him off. "They're all dead. Because of you."

"She ordered me to trust her," he bellowed at Nikola but he didn't flinch. "She ordered me to get you both out of there."

"Because she didn't want us to die to. She was trying to be noble. If those damned vampires escape the caves then none of us stand a chance."

And with that, Nikola turned on his heel, stalking out the door, leaving John all but trembling. The beast within him roared its approval for _she_ was dead but the human part, the part still able to cry felt sick.

Breathing heavily he turned to face the window, silently counting out the next twenty seven minutes in his head.

* * *

><p>"Get in close," Rose ordered to Will and Kate. "Keep firing, no matter what just keep firing," she growled at them before stepping away. Out of the corner of their eyes both saw Rose mutter something, closing her eyes before taking a steadying breath and screwing her face up in concentration.<p>

A low rumble emanated through the cavern, shaking a few rocks from the ceiling as a guttural groan was ripped from Rose's chest, her transformation taking over as she arched, wings bursting forth as her entire body from fingertips to toes tensed. Her groan grew in volume until it was the only thing that could be heard before rising abruptly in pitch to an ear splitting wail. The shaking around them came to an abrupt stop, a silence falling over them that was completely unnatural before bright blue light enveloped the entire cavern, washing over everything, temporarily clouding Kate and Will's vision.

And then there was silence.


	26. At Peace

**Because I was very good and churned out two chapters for the third of this trilogy, y'all get this today instead of Sunday. Plus I'm being needy and want reviews. Apparently updating two other stories within 10 hours of each other does not bode well for reviews :P**

***huggles to all who are heartbroken* We shall solider on. We are, after all, Teslen Troopers!**

**xx**

* * *

><p>"My god," Helen breathed, stepping away from John as they rematerialised in the cavern.<p>

The stone floor was littered with the bodies of vampires, eyes staring up at them unseeing. Henry, Will and Kate were all sitting on the floor, crouched around one of the bodies, not saying a word. They looked up at their boss with unseeing eyes, Kate biting her lip as Henry's jaw stiffened. Then Helen noticed the rather familiar boots sticking out, her heart stopping as she rushed forwards.

Rose was lying on her back, wings spread wide to cushion her body. Her eyes were closed, a peaceful smile dancing on her lips.

"Magnus, I'm sorry," Will choked out, stepping away to give her more room. "She's alive but..."

In half a second Nikola was by her side, pushing Helen away as he carefully lifted her from the floor, hands flitting over her face to push away a few strands of hair. Helen reached out, taking the younger woman's wrist to check for a pulse but the second they made contact a strange feeling overcame her, like a wave of pure exhaustion that sapped her strength. She sagged momentarily before looking up at Nikola. His gaze flicked to hers for a moment.

"You felt it too?" he asked curtly.

"What was it?" she asked, feeling for a pulse.

"I don't know," he all but snapped, his eyes focused on Rosie's serene face.

"Whatever she did," Henry said weakly, "whatever it was knocked all these guys out and it worked on the ones that had me cornered too."

"What exactly happened?" Helen asked, looking up at Kate as she tried not to think about what her lethargic pulse could mean.

"It was something straight out of a sci-fi movie," Kate supplied quietly, unable to look away from Rose as she lay limp in Nikola's arms. "Just after you three left she pulled Will and I towards closer together, telling us to keep shooting no matter what."

"She was behind us," Will continued, "so we didn't get a good look at what happened but she kind of growled. It filled the whole room and everything started to shake. Then she screamed and..."

"And what?" Helen pressed, trying to keep her voice steady as her grip tightened on Rosie's wrist.

"Then there was this light," Will choked out, "bright blue, almost white and it... it was warm."

"And then?"

"When we turned around she was... she was like this," he finished.

No one spoke for a while, all simply staring at the young woman who was still yet to move.

"Niikkki," Rose whispered, her voice echoing off the high walls.

"Rose," he breathed, cupping her cheek as he shifted her high in his arm so that she was almost sitting.

"I've never... fallen asleep... in someone's... arms... before," she huffed weakly, eyes rolling behind closed lids, the corner of her mouth twitching upwards. "I think... I could... get... used to... it."

And with that she fell silent once more, letting loose a low hum of pleasure before her face fell slack again, the only sign of life her slowly rising chest.

"Let's get out of here," Nikola said quietly, slowly shifting Rose in his arms until he was able to lift her off the ground, her wings hanging down, swaying with each gentle motion as he got to his feet. Without so much as a look at the other's he walked to John's side, staring dead ahead as he waited for the others to gather their things, his usually expressive eyes cold and cut off, sending a bolt of fear through Helen. She had to fix this, she simply had to.

"Get her to the infirmary," Helen ordered the moment they touched down in her office. Stepping away from John as quickly as she could she headed for the door, already running through the myriad of test she'd need to run.

"No."

Spinning on her heel she was shocked to see Nikola standing still as he looked at her coolly.

"What?" she asked, stunned. "This is no times for games Nikola, we need to get her there now. She could be in serious danger."

"Can't we put her in her own bed?" he asked, his voice disturbingly neutral. "For the sunshine."

Helen stopped, gazing into his eyes for a moment. As guarded and closed as he could be, Nikola had never been able to hide his emotions from her totally and she could always read him by his eyes. Today they were clouded, swirling with hundreds of emotions that made Helen dizzy but one stood out. Fear. He was just as scared as she was.

And, she realised with a sigh, he was right. They knew so little of Rose's abilities and the way she worked internally but the one thing they did know was that she survived mostly off sunlight. She'd always risen with the sun to get the most of the rays so it only made sense that she should stay in her room, the sunniest in the Sanctuary.

"Of course," she said with a nod but Nikola said nothing, instead walking out of the room without a look at any of them.

"I'll go down to the infirmary and grab what I need. Kate, Henry, you go with Nikola and keep an eye on her. If anything changes let me know."

"Helen," John began as the others started to disperse.

"Will," she continued, not looking at John. "I need you to go start a clean up mission. Call in a few favours and get the place sealed off. We'll need to retrieve one of the bodies for study but the rental car needs to be returned and our gear secured."

"I'll get right on it," he said quietly, leaving the room as quickly as he could.

"Helen," John tried again but she turned away, striding towards the door. In a few long steps he was by her side, holding her arm tightly as he tried to get her to face him.

"Let go of me," she hissed, eyes flashing dangerously.

"I'll go if that's what you want Helen but you have to know I only did what I thought was right," he said quietly, loosening his grip but not releasing her fully, determined that she should hear him out. "You trust Rose, implicitly," he continued. "You trust her with your life and for once I followed your lead, I did as you do and trusted her."

Helen said nothing, head bowed as she waited for him to release her.

"She told me to take you and Nikola here, to not return for thirty minutes and I did as she said. You can't hold that against me."

"She sacrificed herself," Helen growled, jerking her arm free as she glared up at him. "You allowed her to sacrifice herself for us, you saved our skin rather than fight alongside her."

"And what good would have come of you dying?" he asked furiously, stepping closer and making her flinch. "She knew the risks, clearly and she knew that you'd never leave willingly."

"Of course I'd never leave," she yelled. "My life is no more important than anyone else's."

"Your life is a hundred times more important than most," John replied, his voice dropping as he implored her to understand. "Rose knew that and she saved your life Helen, it was not me who made the decision. I followed her orders as you would have done in my place and you cannot blame me for trusting the girl you've always trusted."

Helen swallowed, glaring at him for a moment before she spoke again, her voice barely more than a menacing whisper.

"You will not leave John, not until I tell you to. Is that clear?"

"Perfectly."

With one last shaky glare in his direction, she left the room, striding down the corridor as fast as she could, only allowing a sob to break free as she stumbled into the elevator. She knew she shouldn't be mad at John, he'd done only as he was told and, considering his history with Rose, that was impressive but Helen couldn't very well be furious at the woman who lay upstairs, unconscious. It was easier to pin her anger on John, he was a living, breathing target who deserved most of the anger directed his way.

But she knew it was wrong. John didn't deserve her anger, Rose didn't deserve her anger, she didn't even deserve the anger she felt towards herself because the truth of it was, Rose had done the right thing. She'd saved them all with minimal loss. She'd destroyed the enemy whilst protecting her men. She'd done the right thing and strangely it made it even harder to not be angry at her.

* * *

><p>"It barely took two minutes," Nikola said quietly, not leaving his perch on the edge of the bed. His voice was still quiet but now there was a tinge of excitement.<p>

"And you're saying her wings just retracted without any help?" Helen asked, cocking her head at the peaceful figure lying under several thick blankets. She looked so small and helpless, her mouth parted slightly as she breathed in and out, a steady, even rate. After the wings had disappeared they'd changed her into an old pair of sweats stolen from Kate's cupboard and now she looked distinctly human, as serene as any sleeping child.

"She seemed to wince slightly but nothing more," he said, finally looking up at Helen. "It means there's hope."

"There was always hope," Helen said quietly, smiling at him. "Hope only disappears when you give up."

* * *

><p><strong>Oddly appropriate finishing line considering yesterday's news.<strong>


	27. It All Comes Back to the Source

**Information is gathered from Wikipedia and dodgy looking websites so just pretend it's right, yeah? The title is, well, me poking fun at the fact that everything in Sanctuary is all because of that damn blood!**

**Also, hugs for all the reviews. **

**Also, Engelbert Humperdinck deserved way more than 12 points. Just sayin'.**

**Also, ManTap should have won her Leo. They are all amazing and don't need to win to be amazing but... I love ManTap. She looked smokin'!**

**Also... Nah, just kidding :P Love you all!**

**xx**

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><p>"She's still unconscious," Nikola said softly from his seat opposite Helen and she sighed, smiling sadly at him.<p>

In the past week it had become a habit for both of them to spend an hour or two by Rose's side as the sun rose. At first it had been accidental, Nikola barely moving from her side and Helen simply taking time she didn't really have to talk to her old friend in the hopes that something one of them said could spur her into alertness. As it was, she'd occasionally mumble a few words to whoever was with her at the time but those were few and far between.

Only once had any of them heard any mental chatter. Kate had fallen asleep with her head on the other woman's arm only to be roused by a few grumbling complaints running through her mind. In an instant she'd called the others to her side but no amount of pleading or prompting had been enough to encourage a repeat performance.

They'd been reluctant to move her from the sunlit room but after three days with no change, Helen had insisted on moving her down to the infirmary for a few hours if only to run a few tests. Nikola had protested but Helen had stood firm, saying she couldn't help unless she knew what the problem was. The results, or lack thereof had been frustrating beyond belief for everyone.

"So?" Nikola had said, striding into her office.

"So what?"

"What have you learned?" he asked, standing on the other side of her desk and while Helen had expected anger and belligerence, all that stood before her was a cool, calm and collected man. Nikola had always been a master at hiding his emotions but this was something else. This was blatant denial of feeling anything.

"Nothing," she told him with a sigh. "I can't tell what's normal so I don't know what to look for. From what I can tell, she's basically human but some of these results I've never seen before in my life. From a human or abnormal."

Nikola had said nothing, simply waiting for her to continue.

"The only thing I am certain of is that she's not going to die, I think she's simply asleep," Helen said as a flicker of something passed through Nikola's eyes. "Are you familiar with the stages of sleep?

"Vaguely," Nikola replied, finally taking a seat. "There are what? Four stages and then REM."

"Exactly. Now, from what I can tell, Rose seems to be stuck in the second stage," she explained, leaning forward. "I measured her brain waves and while there are no delta waves to speak of, they're definitely slower than I'd expect plus there's evidence of sleep spindles though I can't say for sure if that's an abnormality for her or not."

"So she's asleep?" Nikola asked, confused. "Surely you could just give her some kind of stimulant to wake her up then?"

"But that's just it," Helen said, shaking her head. "I can't find a single trace of tryptophan, serotonin or melatonin in her system. She's asleep but she's not asleep."

"So what are you going to do?" he asked, face carefully blank.

She could see the fear in his eyes, the fear that they'd lose Rose or, worse, that she wouldn't wake up and Helen felt a strange pit open within her stomach. She couldn't lose Rose, not after all they'd done but she couldn't lose Nikola either.

"I'm not sure," she began slowly. "I really don't know if there's anything we can do. The only thing I'm certain of is that she requires huge doses of vitamin D to remain as alert as she is now. We've already tried giving her a boost but it had no effect."

"And?"

"And what Nikola? I'm at a complete loss here," she said, starting to get angry. Why couldn't he show at least some kind of emotion? Did he have to be so cold about the whole affair?

"So what?" he asked smoothly. "She's stuck like this? Forever?"

From there she'd gotten steadily angrier and angrier until he'd simply walked from the room, not saying a word. Of course she'd apologised quickly but his cool acceptance of such words with a bland smile had her on edge.

Now, sitting on either side of the large bed, Helen felt that fear again. His voice was carefully smooth, betraying no hint of emotion as he watch Rose breath in and out, long slow pulls of air that passed between chapped lips. Rose sighed, shifting slightly under the blankets, drawing their attention but unlike the first time she did as such, neither stood up in excitement. Now they simply watched as a small frown played on her lips, a tiny line appearing between her brow as she sighed once more.

Then Helen felt that tell-tale prod in her mind and she sat up straighter.

"Rose," she rushed, leaning forward. "Rose I'm here, we're both here."

_I._

"Rose."

_Know._

"What is it Helen?" Nikola all but snapped, leaning over to grab Rose's hand. "What did she say?"

"She..." Helen started, staring at her sleeping friend. "She knows we're here."

Nikola scoffed, dropping her hand and leaning back, his face finally showing some emotion.

"Are you ever going to help her?" he snarled, lounging in his chair with a look of haughty indifference on his face.

"Nikola," she started but he held up a hand.

"No Helen, I'm serious. I know you like to pretend to be God when you mess with people's lives but surely your relationship with Rosie-."

"I do no such thing," Helen ground out, trying hard to keep her voice even. Nikola was angry at her lack of results, much as she was but she knew his anger wasn't directed at her, not really. "I'm doing everything I can but this isn't easy. I have no platform from which to base any-."

"Oh do shut up," he snapped, standing up and straightening his suit. "To be honest, I'm sick to death of your explanations that come to nothing. Why bother telling us anything if all you're going to say is that, once again, you haven't got a clue what you're doing."

He strode to the door, only pausing once he reached the threshold. Turning back he swept a critical eye over the room, finally landing on Helen, scorn in his gaze.

"Frankly, Helen, I'm not surprised _you_ haven't made any head way."

And with that he was gone, the slap of his shoes on the polished floor boards echoing down the empty corridor until she was left in silence.

Turning back to face the window, Helen bit her lip, allowing herself a moment of self pity as she watched the sun.

What if he was right? What if she couldn't solve this riddle? What if Rose never woke up? She truly had no idea what she was doing, she'd tried everything she could think of yet nothing had had any effect. Rose had remained in her half asleep state for a week despite their best efforts. Helen had tried human remedies, abnormal remedies and, after seeing the similarities between Rose's blood and her own, all the treatments she could think of that had been effective on her. Not that she'd ever been stuck in a state between sleep and alertness but she was desperate. She'd run every test fathomable and while she was fascinated by Rose's unique physiology, Nikola was right, she'd made no headway. What she needed was to talk to Rosie.

"How is she?" a low voice asked from behind her. Turning in her seat, Helen nodded to John and he stepped into the room.

"No change," she said quietly as he moved to take the seat Nikola had left empty.

"How are you?"

Helen swallowed, unable to look at John. She'd stopped storming from the room when he entered but she was still having trouble remaining civil. He was such an easy target for her anger and no matter how many times she told herself to stop being so petty and childish, she was still having trouble looking him in the eye. Trying to reconcile the man who'd professed an urge to kill Rosie with the man who blindly followed her orders was difficult and, as of yet, she'd had no luck.

"Why did you do it?" she blurted out. He'd explained it to her many times, or at least he'd tried but still, hearing the words from his mouth calmed her, made it easier to focus.

"I'm trying," he said simply. "I'm trying to fight the beast so that I can be the man you deserve and part of that requires me to trust."

"But why?" she breathed, her eyes wide at his confession. Normally he told her he just did what he was told, that he followed her orders because Helen had always trust Rose so this change of track had thrown her more than a little.

"She's your friend," he began, eyes trained on the sleeping figure between them. "And you trust her with your life. She entrusted me with your life and..."

He looked up at her, pain clear in his eyes. "And I'm trying."

Both remained silent for a minute, not looking at each other as they tried to find common ground from which to begin again. Rose sighed again, shivering once before settling back into silence.

"Do you think I ought to be here?" John asked quietly after a moment. "All things considered."

"I think..." Helen started. "I think she doesn't hate you as much as you think."

John chuckled. "Wishful thinking my dear. She wants to kill me just as much as always."

Helen raised an eyebrow in silent question but John merely smiled, tapping the side of his head.

"She's been rather vocal this morning," she observed.

"Is that a good sign?" he asked, leaning forward to get a better look at her sleeping face. "Do you think it means she's waking up?"

"No."

The word was a whisper, barely audible but by some miracle they both heard it.

"Rose, we're here. What do you mean 'no'? What can I do, what do you need?" Helen asked hurriedly, shifting to sit on the bed. Grabbing the younger woman's hand, she bent close, determined to not miss anything she said.

"Blaa.." she whispered, wincing slightly. "Blood."

"What blood?" Helen asked, squeezing her hand. "Are you bleeding?"

"Nikola... blood... vam... vam... vampire... blood."

"Come on Rose, what are you trying to say?" Rose winced again, eyes still tightly shut but a low groan slipped between her lips. Whatever she was trying to say, Helen knew it was important but, by the looks of it, it was exhausting her further.

"Blood," she whispered from between clenched teeth. Her eyes fluttered open momentarily and she tightened her grip on Helen's hand, allowing a few images to pass between their minds. Helen gasped, eyes glazing over as she watched the slaughter of hundreds of people, vampires allowing open wounds to drip blood into the open mouths of terrified men and women. Shrieks filled her ears, the people writhing in pain as the vampires dropped them to the ground, allowing them to struggle with an unseen pain.

Suddenly the images stopped, Rose falling back to the bed limp and lifeless. She was still breathing but when John grabbed her shoulders, begging her to wake up he got no response, mental or verbal but Helen was barely paying attention.

Breathing heavily she leant back, trying to piece together the puzzle she'd been presented but try as she might, she couldn't make the answer anything different to the bone chilling option she'd been presented with.


	28. Open Your Eyes

**Chapter is, of course named for the song by Snow Patrol, one of my favourites. Bit short too but I hope it explains a few of the issues people were having :P**

**Thank you to those reviewing and generally being amazing human beings. And to people who make my week :)**

**xx**

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><p>Over the next few days, Helen was only vaguely aware of Nikola's presence in the Sanctuary. He was never with Rosie and from what she could tell, spent most of his time hiding in the catacombs. If they passed in a corridor he said nothing, strolling by as if she didn't exist. Once or twice she'd tried to call him on his childish behaviour but he simply walked away and then she'd not see him for a good few hours but in truth, Helen was far too preoccupied to deal with his childish reaction to their lack of answers.<p>

After Rosie's early morning outburst, she'd been startlingly quiet, not even a whisper had been heard from her despite Helen's best efforts. She needed more because what little information she had painted a picture Helen didn't particularly want to consider. The message was clear as day but she was determined to find an alternative.

The worst thing was that the one person she needed to talk to was the one person who wouldn't listen. She'd shared what she'd learnt with John and her team but none of them were willing to weigh in on the situation. Helen understood their reluctance but the proposition before her wasn't one she could accept on her own.

As an alternative to proper discussion, she'd taken to speaking with Rose, simply voicing her concerns to the silent woman in the hopes that eventually she'd get an answer to the ever present question.

"Is there nothing else for it?"

So, with a heavy heart, Helen was striding towards Rose's bedroom, trying not to think of the fact that Ashley's room was so nearby. If Ashley were here, she'd most certainly have something to say, Helen knew it. She tried not to dwell on it but the thought always seemed to pop into her head. Sighing she pushed away the thought, focusing instead on the fact that Rose's door, for the first time since they'd arrived back from Serbia, was partially closed. Slowing, Helen cocked her head, listening for any clue as to why it wasn't thrown open wide.

"Rose," Nikola said quietly as Helen peered through the gap. He was on the other side of the bed to her, holding Rosie's hand tightly between his own. "Rose I know you can hear me so you better listen." He paused, taking a deep breath before beginning again, his voice quieter than before and Helen had to strain to hear him. "You have to open your eyes Rosie, you have to open your eyes because this has gone on long enough. I need you to open your eyes, Helen needs you to open your eyes, hell, even Johnny needs you to wake up. We need you Rose, so I'm asking you, before this goes on any longer, open your eyes. Just... Just tell me you'll open your eyes. Please."

"Nikola," Helen whispered, against her will and his eyes flicked up to where she stood by the door. In a second the gentleness in his eyes was gone, replaced by the cool indifference he'd been toting.

"What are you doing here?" he asked quietly, his voice smooth.

"I came to... to talk to her," she said uncertainly. "I just... We need to talk," she tried, taking a step into the room as he glared at her.

"You could have knocked," he said icily, looking down at Rose.

"Have any of the others told you what she did?" she asked hurriedly, hoping he'd at least hear part of the story before storming out.

"I know she spoke to you momentarily," he said, not looking her in the eye. "But huggybear told me to speak to you about it."

"She told me how to help her."

At that he looked up, eyes wide. "Do it," he almost barked, clearly clinging to the idea. "Why haven't you already?"

"It won't help her wake up," Helen said, speaking softly. "If we... if we inject some of your blood into her she will... she'll be at peace."

"No."

"Nikola-."

"No Helen," he spat. "You can't kill her, you cannot end her life. You don't have that right."

"But is this a life?" she asked, hands on hips. "She's not going to get any better Nikola, she's stuck like this for all eternity. Do you really think she'd want to live like this?"

"That's not your decision to make," he all but roared at her, standing up and dropping Rose's hand back to the bed. A tense few seconds passed, both glaring furiously at the other, the only sound in the room their heavy breathing.

"Show me her blood work," he ordered, his voice sedate once more. "And yours."

"What?" Helen breathed, completely thrown by the direction he'd taken.

"Blood work," he said again. "Both yours and hers. I'll give you a sample of mine too and I'd like the results as soon as they come through."

"Nikola, please don't do this," she tried but he held up a hand.

"The blood work," he said once more before heading to the door. "I'll be in my laboratory," he called over his shoulder, not stopping until he'd taken a few steps out the door.

Helen watched as he came to a sudden stop but she said nothing, not trusting herself to contain her anger. He couldn't honestly believe she wanted to make this choice or that she relished the idea of losing Rose any more than he did. She knew her anger would be evident in her eyes but as he turned back to face her, the cool and snide veneer back in place she didn't care. He was and always would be an arrogant son of a bitch who paid little attention to the feelings of others. He didn't care about anyone but himself and-

"I'm sorry," he coughed out uncomfortably.

Helen's jaw slackened. She'd heard those words leave his lips voluntarily on only a handful of occasions.

"About what I said the other morning," he continued, eyes darting around as if searching for something safe to look at. "I shouldn't have... I mean this is... I know you're trying."

She swallowed, not sure of what to say. Slowly, Nikola met her shocked gaze, his eyes still carefully guarded but she could see the cracks in his armour.

"I need you to keep trying," he said quietly. "Because if you don't, if you give up, I know you'll blame me and I can't... I don't want... You already have enough reason to hate me. I can't... _lose_ you."

And with that he was gone, leaving Helen even more confused than she'd been about their situation in a very long time. Trying to push the confusing thoughts from her mind, Helen turned to leave the room, unable to watch the sleeping figure of her friend any longer.

Betrayal, hurt, pride, desperation and fear swept through her as she walked down the corridor, the combination making her walk faster as if she could outrun the insanity of her own mind. She tried to set her mind to the task, to focus on what Nikola had asked but, despite her best efforts, she was having trouble concentrating.

Even once she arrived in her lab her mind refused to cooperate, swirling away of its own accord as she gathered what he'd asked for. She tried to figure out why he needed such information but, as she began her descent to his laboratory, all she could think about was the crack in his façade.

**_37 hours later:_**

"Helen," he said quietly from the door way. All the others looked up at the interruption to their morning meeting.

"Yes?" she asked, slightly confused to see Nikola standing before her. Since she'd given him the results he'd asked for and free reign over her medical equipment she hadn't seen him for even a wine break.

He took a deep breath and looked straight at her, his cracks more than clear.


	29. Two of These Things

**Full title is "Two of These Things Are Not Like The Other" but it's too long for me to put up :(**

**Question, how would everyone react to John being vaguely interested Abby? Random, I know but I was being crazy today and the thought came to me that it'd be hilarious. Anyone agree?**

**Anyway, here you are. Another chapter. Mid week. I'm so good to y'all. Today's chapter is for alwayssmilingsam who I managed to sucker into this fic despite her disinterest in original characters :P And for all those who reviewed. **

**Also, I only realised today how close we are to the end of this story! Only five chapters after this and then we're on to the sequel!**

**xx**

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><p>It took them less than an hour to get everything set up, the serum was surprisingly easy to make and despite going over Nikola's notes three times, Helen couldn't find a reason they shouldn't at least try. It wasn't as if they had anything to lose.<p>

As they made their way up to her attic bedroom, they were silent. Kate, Henry and Will had said very little, simply allowing Helen and Nikola to discuss his proposition. It made sense really, that they'd hang back from such a decision but Nikola's cool confidence in his plan wasn't comforting to Helen. She needed someone to present arguments against it so that she could be swayed to accepting it more readily. It was twisted, she knew but then if something went wrong, the immensely childish part of herself could blame someone else for talking her into it. As it was, she was almost thankful no one had. If this failed then it would be on her back in more ways than one.

Naturally, when Nikola had told her of his findings she'd been dubious. She didn't deny the strange connection she knew existed between herself and Rose but the way Nikola pointed out their genetic similarities gave her the chills.

"It's strange," he'd mused. "I would have thought considering how toxic our blood is to her you'd have died when we first injected the source blood."

Her eyes had bulged at that.

"Perhaps that explains why my transformation took so long."

"And why your change wasn't actually noticeable," he'd continued, handing her more of his research. "I know I'm not a biologist but I think it will work."

She'd agreed. In an instant she knew his assumption, whilst still being no more than an assumption, was right. It could work. If it didn't they had no idea of what could happen but the result couldn't be worse than this, could it? And even if it was, Nikola had grudgingly agreed to provide a vile of his blood just in case.

So here they were, standing silently in an elevator as Helen clutched a syringe filled with her own synthesized blood. They'd compared the three sets of DNA carefully, perfecting Nikola's process from Mexico to extract what they identified as vampiric in Nikola's DNA from Helen's to create the closest copy they could to Rose's. The idea was simple. She needed an energy boost to thrust her back into the land of the living and while that energy could be garnered from the sun, some of it appeared to be self generating. So, Nikola had hypothesised, give her body a kick start, show it how it was supposed to be creating its own energy and maybe she'd be able to fight back into consciousness.

The concept, when first presented to Helen had been baffling. She'd studied her own rejuvenating cells many times over yet never had she come to this conclusion. They were deteriorating but at a fraction of the normal pace and she'd simply assumed it was a lessened effect of the vampire's immortality but this suggested different origins entirely.

Just as Nikola had dormant genes within his DNA that lead to his vampirism, he gathered that she had some of her own. After all, her longevity was vastly different to that of the vampires. She was aging. Slowly, yes but aging none the less. The revelation had been startling but not nearly as startling as the idea that the injection of the Source Blood all those years ago had in fact kicked off a partial transformation within herself. Her body had absorbed the blood and it was prolonging her life but, due to the genes already embedded within her, she was aging, not frozen in time as Nikola was. Her own body was attacking the substance it considered poisonous in the most basic of ways only the poisonous substance was now part of who she was. It was strong, always fighting its way to the surface and while it could clearly stave off her body's defences for some of the time, it meant that in essence, she was attacking herself.

Death by extremely slow aging, not the way she wanted to go but somehow Helen didn't think she'd ever have enough time to complete her work.

"Do you have the vial?" she asked Nikola suddenly, turning to face him. Pondering her own mortality, while a disturbing morbid past time of her youth, wasn't something she chose to indulge in. She needed to think about something else so it only seemed natural to think about someone else's possibly impending death by her own hand.

"Yes," Nikola answered tersely as the doors clunked open. "But we won't need it," he continued arrogantly though Helen suspected it had less to do with confidence and more to do with a grim determination.

"I don't want to use it either," she continued softly. "But I will not let her suffer when there is a way out of it."

"Which is why we created that," he ground out hotly. "Don't think you're alone in wanting to save her Helen."

"That's not what I'm saying and you know it," she said vehemently as they strode towards her room where Will, Kate and Henry were already waiting.

"No Helen, you're saying that you have no hope. That you believe this to be futile and are simply humouring me for the sake of some perverted relationship between us that has been distorted beyond recognition because of your innate selfishness. You are saying it because you are incapable of caring."

She stopped, grabbed his arm to yank him back before slapping him across the face as hard as she could. It wasn't the most forceful blow she'd ever delivered nor the most damaging but for the split second after she'd done it, her hand stinging, it had been worth it simply to see the horror wash over Nikola's face. She saw the moment he realised what he'd said, the second his fearful daze departed leaving him with no witty comeback or damaging quip to deliver.

"Don't you ever say that again," she threatened quietly before turning and continuing towards the door, determined to forget about him and his cutting words.

It wasn't until she stood at the closed door to Rose's room that he caught up with her, grabbing her arm to roughly yank her back towards him. She fell into his embrace, startled by the tightness of his arms around her and unable to pull away.

"I didn't mean it," he whispered hoarsely into her hair. "I'm sorry."

Helen nodded as much as she could and would have pushed him away had it not been for the suspiciously warm drop of water that landed on her head.

"I know," she choked out, pleased when the tension between them faded somewhat. His words stung, reaching a place she often tried to deny but she still knew that they were not true words. He was afraid, just as afraid as she was of losing someone they'd known for longer than any human had the right to know someone. Because there really was a chance with this that it would go wrong. Everything they 'knew' was sketchy and held together by assumptions and jumps in logic. Perhaps there was too much vampire left in the serum, perhaps there was not enough, perhaps what she needed wasn't a boost but a virus like version of the foreign DNA to fight against, perhaps this was all foolish and they'd end up losing her anyway.

Nikola pulled away, not looking her in the eye as he turned to the door, grasping the knob with a hand that, to his credit, was only just shaking.

"We were wondering when you two would get here," Henry said, looking up from where he sat at the foot of the bed.

"Are we ready?" Will asked, standing up.

Helen nodded, not trusting herself to speak as she took a place next to Rose on the bed. Carefully she turned to the tray of supplies resting on the bedside table, grabbing what she needed. Methodically she swabbed the crux of the other woman's elbow before wrapping the tourniquet around her arm, taking the needle in hand.

"Wait!" Kate called abruptly and everyone froze, looking at her with confusion. "Shouldn't we, I mean, can't we..." she tried uncertainly. "Shouldn't we tell her what's going on?"

"She knows," Helen said quietly, feeling comforted by the gentle prod within her mind. Rose knew.

Taking a deep breath she raised the needle once more, finding a vein with ease. The needle easily slipped into her skin and Rose didn't make a sound. Hoping to hell that that was a good sign, Helen depressed the needle smoothly.

The result was instantaneous.

Rose's eyes flew open as a guttural groan was ripped from her chest, her body arching off the mattress.

In an instant, Helen ripped the needle out, tossing it onto the tray as she tried to calm Rosie's bucking body. She was moving from side to side, violent tremors rocking her body as she continued to groan and scream. Her jaw was set and she scrunched her eyes shut as Helen grabbed her hand.

"Rose," said urgently. "Rose you need to relax, you have to calm down and tell us how to help you."

Her eyes flew open once more and she squeezed Helen's hand tightly, their eyes locking as Rose fought the pain.

"What have you done?" she hissed accusingly before growling once more, arching her back and thrashing beneath the covers, pain etched on her face. Suddenly her wings burst forth and she screamed once more, releasing Helen's hand and fisting her hands in the sheets as she began to pant for breath, her cries emanating from deep within her.

Helen looked to Nikola, swallowing as she took in the pure fear in his eyes. The others all stepped back from the bed but Nikola nodded minutely at her, stepping forward to grab Rose's arm on one side as Helen did the same. Together they held her as still as they could, Helen reaching one hand up to find her pulse.

"What do we do?" Nikola asked, as he grabbed her arms more firmly.

"I don't know," Helen replied, unable to tear her eyes from Rose's pained expression. "I think it-."

Rose stopped, her body falling limp under them. Her brow was sweaty, her face paler than before and, as Helen checked her pulse once more she was disturbed to find it slower than normal. She was breathing but only just, short sharp pants making her chest rise and fall minutely.

"Is she..." a voice said from the doorway and Helen turned to find John standing there, his face a mixture of emotions.

"She's alive," Nikola muttered, not looking away from her.

"Just."

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><p><strong>I know this one is a bit confusing. I tried to make it as clear as possible without spoon feeding y'all. Basically, as was established earlier, Rose is what she is because of something that kick started the transformation ages ago (this was discussed in like chapter 7 or something) and it is also established that anyone could have the genetics to be like her. Nikola discovered that Helen does. Does that makes sense? Let me know if you need more clarification.<strong>


	30. The Moment Between

**Alrighties, here we go! Another Sunday evening, another chapter. No midweek update this week, I've got an exam to study for and a house to clean despite the Queen's Jubilee public holiday tomorrow. **

**Thank you to those sticking with this monster of a story. The support and reviews mean a lot. **

**Also, with the sequel (FOUR CHAPTERS AWAY NOW!) I was wondering if y'all wanted a new update day. Would Friday evenings be better or what? It's up to you guys :)**

**xx**

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><p><em>It's dark, you can barely move but you almost don't want to. You are warm. You are safe. You fight against the cotton wool pulled down around you brain, sure that there's something you're meant to be doing but it's hard. You know the danger is gone, the smell of blood thick in the air but it's dead blood. It's the only kind of blood you can stand. <em>

_There are gentle hands on your body, turning you this way and that as someone says your name. You try to respond, you try to say something but it can't really be that pressing. You feel your body begin to float, the ground isn't firm against your back and the clothes on your skin don't itch. You feel at peace but it's not quite enough. You can't seem to go that step further, to the place where any kind of feeling stops but oh how you want to. You want to rest, you want to stop running from... You aren't quite sure what it is you were running from. Or what you were running to, for that matter. But you do know you can stop. _

_A new voice appears by your side and you feel a rush of affection for the owner of the voice. They are someone you care about. You reach out with your mind briefly, trying to tell him to quit jabbering away, that you're fine but it exhausts you far more quickly than it should._

_Eventually, times begins to pass, you think because there is a bit of shuffling, a bit of sniffling and a few spoken words but you're just finding a bit of peace when more voices arrive. This time you can smell blood again, that putrid stench of live blood that belongs to only one thing. _

_You hear more voices and once again you try to reach out to them, you can hear the fear in the voice and it won't do. The first new voice tugs at your heart, making you want to bolt upright if only to erase the tension you can just about feel flowing from her but it's not her hands on your skin that break your heart. Gentle fingers ease you up and you don't need to see him to know who is holding you. _

_Now you fight. You fight even harder so that you can say something, anything. This man cannot hurt. You won't let him hurt because of you. You've already done too much damage so you fight. The others are talking about you, trying to explain what happened but you know they don't quite understand it. You know you ought to be more worried about it but all you care about is letting __him__ know that you're alright_.

_Their chatter dies off for a moment so you work harder, wanting to take advantage of the silence._

"_Niikkki," you murmur, unable to make the words come out any louder. Everything hurts just a little bit and even though it's the kind of hurt that makes you feel just a little warm it clouds your mind and makes the words ridiculously hard. _

"_Rose," he breathes and his hand finds purchase on your cheek. It's a sweet gesture, one he'd never attempt in public and you feel your heart break a little._

"_I've never... fallen asleep... in someone's... arms... before," you breathe, trying for a little humour so that they'll all know you are still you, still in there somewhere. "I think... I could... get... used to... it." They need to know so that when you ask them to do what needs to be done they know it's you asking._

_You want to say more, you really do but you can't. You're exhausted again and it's all you can do to try and stay in his arms. More words are spoken and then you are lifted gently, your body cradled with the utmost care._

_There is a strange sensation you can't totally identify but then you're somewhere else. You recognise the faint scent of the room and it calms you. There are more voices and you can feel yourself moving through corridors that have the same faint scent. The turns are familiar and soon enough you realise you are in your room, on your bed. _

_And then you feel the one thing you've been searching for. Sunlight. It warms every corner of your body, filling you up and making you tingle. You curl your toes at the delightful sensation rushing through your body as your boots are pulled from your feet. Colours swirl behind your eyes and you let loose a little sigh. Focusing all your energy, you pull in your wings. It hurts but with the sunlight tickling your face it's easier than you thought it would be to hold them in. _

_You hear someone gasp at the action but you don't focus on it, instead searching out the mind you know is yet to leave your side. You can sense there is something he wants to do and, with effort, you let him know it's O.K._

_By the time more voices enter the room you have been redressed in far comfier clothes. The cotton is soft against your skin and it smells of another but it's not off putting as you'd thought it might be. The idea is comforting. _

_They are speaking again but with all the effort you've already expended you can't follow it, floating merrily within your own mind. Gentle hands touch you, your hands, your face, your feet even but all you can do is sigh and hope they know that you're alright._

_Time passes strangely, in lulls and highs that you don't quite understand. It's only because of the gentle rise and fall of the sun that you can tell how long it's been. You try to talk to them from time to time but mostly you spend the days dreaming of events that have come and gone. You see those you have loved and lost, those you have left and most importantly, those whose names you cannot remember. These are the people you miss the most. You see your father a few times, his face clear and sharp in your mind while everything else blurs around you. _

_Only when the outside world makes itself known do you interact with others. At one point there is a weight on your arm. You kindly tell her to get off and she gasps as you do so. Others come to marvel at your 'progress' but you want to tell them the truth. You try but it doesn't quite work so you let it pass._

_A day or two later they are both there and while it happens often, you don't need to open your eyes to see the tension in the room. You know they have been fighting, that they are angry at each other but you want to tell them to be angry at you. It is your fault, not theirs. You decide that you won't let them go without telling them as such. You fight the fuzz behind your eyes that keeps your mind at bay. It take some effort but finally you try and speak to her. Her breathing quickens and you realise you've been successful._

"_Rose," she rushes, "Rose I'm here, we're both here."_

_I. Know, you reply quietly but that's all you can get out before the fuzz descends again. You feel their hands in yours, squeezing as if it will coax a response. They go back to talking quickly and their voices escalate. Soon, too soon he leaves and you reach out to taste the fear of his mind. He doesn't want to lose you but you can see that he doesn't realise that if he continues like this, he will lose her too. _

_She speaks to you softly, her words kind whispers that make you want to chuckle at her sweetness. Then another joins you and while you want to leap up and strangle him, another part of you wants to hug him. He trusted you, he listened and he kept them safe from you. He made sure that you did not kill the ones you love and you will never be able to thank him enough for that kindness. _

_They are talking about you, you are certain but exactly what you aren't sure until she speaks of your hatred for him or lack thereof._

_You let him know that you do indeed wish to dismember him with a rather overly dramatic image but you can tell that he understand you are only jesting._

_He speaks again and this time laughs and while the sound puts you on edge, you hope that it puts her at ease. You focus on following their conversation but it isn't until she asks if you are waking up that you speak once more._

"_No," you whisper, trying to sound firm. It is the truth and there is nothing you can do about it._

"_Rose, we're here. What do you mean 'no'? What can I do, what do you need?" she asks, moving to take your hand._

"_Blaa.." you whisper, trying desperately to get the words out. "Blood."_

"_What blood?" she asks, sounding so very confused. "Are you bleeding?"_

"_Nikola... blood... vam... vam... vampire... blood," you try once more. They have to know, you have to tell them. You want to sit up and tell her everything. Tell her how to end this and how much she means to you. The past few days you have spent thinking about your life, your very long life and the one thing you know with absolute certainty is that she hasn't got a clue just how much you adore her. You would do anything for her because it's what she deserves. She has been too kind to you and you need to repay that kindness but you know what you will tell her will do just the opposite. _

"_Come on Rose, what are you trying to say?" she says and you groan with the effort of remaining this alert. _

"_Blood," you whisper, forcing your eyes open and grabbing at her hand as you show her what you mean. You show her the death of your kind, of the way that vile blood ran through their veins and made them burn from within, of how you hid like the coward you are as you watched the ones you loved shrivel and die but there is a limit to your abilities and that's all you can show her before the fuzz makes its demands known and you fall back to the bed limp._

_Hands grab at your shoulders to try and coax more life into your body and while the touch sends images of dripping knives searing through your skull as a reminder of how this should have ended, it doesn't help you fight the fuzz. In fact, it makes you retreat. You don't want to see it anymore. You are ready for it and there is no need to dwell on what life could have been. _

_The next few days pass in a blur of voices and conversations but you can't focus. It's worse than it was before, your mind refusing to cooperate. You can hear sweet words being spoken to you by the one you love and they have some effect but they don't help. It breaks your heart to hear him speak so tenderly when you know how much he is hurting but there is nothing you can do despite your very best efforts._

_His hand is warm in yours, his fingers stroking gently at your skin and it's all you can do to make not of that fact. All too soon he stops, dropping your hand to the bed and then you hear raised voices. It takes a little while to figure out what they're talking about but you can almost guess. Then you make out a single word and it all falls into place._

_Blood._

_You try to reach out to him, tell him to stop yelling at her because she's right, this is what you want but you can't. You need to tell him that you are at peace with the idea of death, welcome it even because as pleasant as it is to lay here with nothing to do and nowhere to be, it breaks your heart that you can't talk to them. To hear them by your side, to hear the quiet questions they ask and to be unable to respond is a kind of torture you don't want to have to deal with for much longer._

_Soon enough the fighting ends and you are left in silence once more. You aren't sure if they'll do as you ask but, when they all shuffle in just a few days later, no one making a sound, you think they might just._

_You feel incredibly selfish at asking them to kill you, you know it will be hard for them but after all this you can't resist the allure of eternal slumber. You don't really believe in Heaven which is O.K because of all the places for you to end up, that's not where you'll be. You've done too much harm in your long life, not including the things you are now asking._

_Someone is touching your arm and you breathe a sigh of relief. It's coming, it's so close you can taste it. _

_Then they begin to wonder if you know, if they should... oh you can't really follow it but you reach out regardless, telling them that you know, that it's O.K._

_It isn't until the needle slides beneath your skin that you realise something's wrong. Pain floods your body and you fight to control yourself but there is something more to it. You can feel the fuzz disappearing, it's lifting at the same rate that you are burning from the inside. You scream, you can't help it and even though you can hear them talking to you, asking what's wrong, you can't respond. It hurts more than you ever thought possible but you can feel your body growing stronger. You focus what little control you still have on turning your head to glare at her._

"_What the hell have you done?" you growl before you give in to the pain, entire body sizzling and burning from the inside out. Your head feels like it's exploding as the vile poison makes its way through your body, every nerve ending bursting into fire as it snakes its way to the recesses of your mind._

_It's growing, the pain is getting more and more painful but your mind getting stronger and stronger and, with one last growl, everything explodes in a burst of light that is more intense than any pain you've ever experiences. Darkness descends in an instant and, much to your disbelief, everything flashes before your eyes. The pain is still there, coursing through your body but you can't move, shrouded in darkness that keeps it at bay somewhat. You see everything, all the names you thought you'd forgotten, all the people you'd left behind, all the wrong you've done and you can't look away. It all plays out in front of you over and over and over again until the pain slowly starts to ebb. It happens so gradually that you don't notice at first but before long it's gone and your breathing is easier. _

_And then with a gasp, you sit up._

There is light.


	31. Hugs

**Ta-da! Now go review and make my 7am start less daunting. *hugs***

**xx**

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><p>It had been three days since Helen had injected her blood into Rose but since she'd collapsed into unconsciousness there had been no change. They ran hundreds of tests, spent hours pouring over the results and while there had been significant changes they'd found nothing to suggest that their treatment had been anything other than a disaster.<p>

Rose was less responsive than before, nothing rousing her from her sleep yet still, none of the chemical indicators or brain waves she'd associate with sleep were present. Thankfully, Nikola had yet to stop talking to her, instead taking his frustrations out on the rest of her team. Will and Kate seemed to struggle the most with his treatment but Henry it seemed, was coming into his own, more than willing to push back when Nikola decided to use him as a verbal punching bag. Once or twice it had almost come to blows but both had walked away willingly.

This new side of her usually rather timid tech expert surprised Helen. She'd always known that Henry and Rose were close but it was for that reason she'd thought he would be less inclined to fight. He wore his emotions rather proudly on his sleeve but anger had never been something he'd displayed in abundance.

Sighing, Helen shook her head, trying to focus on the reports before her. As much as she wanted to sit and mull over the situation she was still unable to fully comprehend, life kept going. There were other Sanctuary's out there that needed her advice or approval for one project or another. She had to keep reminding herself that there were problems and situations out there far more dire than the death of one woman but it rarely worked. She tried to tell herself that one life lost was one too many but she knew that wasn't just it. Not when she'd been fighting this war for decades. She'd seen many come and go, watched those she admired die before her eyes and while each of those had hurt, she couldn't deny that this was a little different.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door, dragging her from her thoughts. Looking up, Helen cleared her throat just as Will, Kate and Henry came walking in, looking a little confused.

"Is there something I can help you all with?" she asked, trying to keep her voice level.

"Uhm," Will started, looking to the others for answers. "I don't think so..."

"Pardon?"

"I'm not sure," Kate said, shooting Henry an uncertain look. "We were all just down in Hank's lab and then..."

"I was wondering where you'd all run off to," Nikola commented as he and John strolled in behind the others. "Wouldn't want to miss the party."

"What are you all doing here?" Helen asked, standing up as the others continued to look around as if startled by their surroundings.

"You don't think..." Henry breathed. Helen's eyes widened as she caught on to his train of thought but before she could open her mouth three soft knocks sounded at the other doorway and, as one, they all turned towards the source of the sound.

"Morning," Rose whispered, clinging to the door frame as she gave them all a weak smile. Immediately Helen began to rush forwards but Rose held up a hand, waving her away as she took an unsteady step forwards.

"Stay back," she ordered, setting her jaw as she took a few more shaky steps towards the group. She faltered for a moment and Helen tried to dash to her side but Rose glared at her, pushing herself back up off the chair she'd grabbed, taking a deep breath before walking through the group, eye focused on only one point.

She appeared tiny, her small frame drowned by the huge t-shirt she wore, her rolled up sweat pants dangling around her calves with each shuddering step she took. Her eyes were sunken and her hair was thoroughly mussed but there was such determination on her face that the others had trouble speaking.

Plus their shock was a little overwhelming.

With a small grunt she took the last step forwards before collapsing against John, her arms winding around his waist as she hugged him tightly.

"Thank you," she whispered much to the shock of her audience. "For saving them."

She held him tight, hands fisting in the fabric of his shirt as she sighed. John was staring, wide eyed at Helen, asking silently what he ought to do. He quickly searched the gaze of all the others in the room but to no avail. When finally he looked down at the woman hugging him fiercely, she released him, giving him a faint smile before making a face and taking an unsteady step backwards.

"Rose," Helen cried in alarm, darting forwards to steady her friend.

"I'm fine," Rose said softly, making a face as she allowed Helen to lead her over to the sofa. Sinking down into the cushions, she let out a soft sigh before her eyes fluttered open.

"I suppose you've got questions," she quipped quietly and Helen rolled her eyes. The others were all standing around, eyes wide with shock as they took in her exhausted figure. Rose chuckled and sat up a little straighter.

"Gather round children, for it is a tale of woe," she began with a grin but soon it turned into a grimace, followed by a spectacular coughing fit. Nikola quickly handed her a handkerchief and she flashed him a grateful smile before screwing her eyes shut as she continued to cough. Helen rubbed gentle circles on her back as they waited for the attack to pass while the others cautiously took seats.

Nikola and Henry occupied the sofa opposite Helen and Rose, Kate dropping into one armchair and Will the other as John migrated a little further away from the group. His actions didn't escape Helen but nor did she comment.

"Are you sure you're feeling alright?" Will asked speculatively.

"You mean aside from the fact that I've got her nasty blood pumping through my veins?" she croaked, eyeing the now bloodied handkerchief in her hand with distaste. She made a face before balling up the fabric in her fist and grimacing in Helen's direction.

"Oh my," Helen began, but Rose waved her off.

"Don't worry," she said, clearing her throat. "It's actually a good thing. It means that it's not burning through my veins and making me want to take a damn nap."

"Sorry about that," Helen said apologetically but Rose pulled a face.

"Sorry for saving my life? Surely you aren't that callous," she chastised weakly.

"O.K, I hate to have to be _that_ person but, uh, can you tell us, you know, what happened?" Henry said uncomfortably thought his curiosity was obvious.

"You mean with the great white light of vampiric destruction?"

"Well, it was kinda blue," Kate chimed in with a smile.

"If you say so," Rose replied. "I've never actually seen it properly."

"But what was it?" Will asked, sitting forward and Rose made a face.

"It's hard to explain. I don't understand the science of it but, best I can tell it affects the human parts of a vampire's DNA, effectively making everything sort of combust. Tell me something, has anyone been back to the cave?"

"Yes," John replied from where he sat by the window. "I went back a few times but-."

"The bodies had all but disintegrated?"

"I managed to find one that was mostly intact but after a few days it was just as decomposed as the others," he answered with a nod. "Why?"

"Haven't a clue but if that's true then I suppose the other thing was too," she responded, eyes glazing over as her mind began to wander.

"Other thing?" Helen prompted gently and Rose shook her head, shooting her a small smile.

"Oh, well, technically it should have killed you too."

Rose shrugged at the news, grabbing a glass of water from the coffee table before her.

"The silence means you need to say something," Nikola drawled, not looking her in the eye. Rose shot him a dark look before sighing and placing the cup back down.

"The energy or whatever it was," she began again, "probably would have encompassed the whole globe, killing any... active vampire DNA for lack of a better term. Anyone with recessive genes would have been fine but you three... That's why I had John take you away."

Helen looked over to John, a pang of guilty striking at her.

"Hence the hug," Rose threw out, giving John a tight smile. "You didn't have to save them. But you did."

Her words hung in the air, soft and unexpected.

"But wait," Will said, breaking the almost tender moment. "You said it would have covered the world?"

"To be honest, that part was a little trial and error on my part," Rose admitted with a sheepish grin. "See, to the best of my knowledge, that particular quirk of my DNA has never been utilized by any of my kind. I vaguely knew how it was supposed to work so the assumption that I could limit the area I covered wasn't _that_ outrageous but... Well, that you three are sitting here is the result of a lucky guess."

"So, essentially, you released an energy wave toxic to vampiric blood that should have brought about the end of anything vampiric worldwide?" Helen clarified.

"I know, how tragically science fiction," Rose said, sounding a little put off by the thought.

"But you limited the wave to ensure that Nikola, John and I weren't harmed?"

"It seems that way," she quipped, smirking a little. "But Serbia, the rest of Europe and the northern coast of Africa ought to be vampire free."

"If it really did encompass such a large area, shouldn't there have been reports or something?" Will asked. "You know, a giant blue flash of light isn't likely to go unnoticed."

"Possibly, but I think it's more likely that the light you saw was only visible at the epicentre of the explosion."

"But why the nap?" Nikola threw out, his face cold and unreadable.

"Ah well, the 'energy blast'," she said, making air quotes, "sapped my energy. Had I let it expand to the proper size I've no doubt it would have killed me. Thankfully Helen's little concoction based on Nikola's findings gave me the boost I apparently needed."

"And you don't feel any adverse reaction?" Helen asked.

"I don't think I'll heal completely, not with vampire blood in me," Rose said carefully. "But I'm awake which is a welcome change."

She smiled broadly at Helen, clearly trying to convey her happiness before coughing once more.

"Damn blood," she groused, reaching for the glass of water once more. She took a few large gulps before setting it down once more, leaning back and closing her eyes as she sighed.

"I suppose you'll be off soon then?" Nikola asked, a faint sheen of distaste colouring his words. "Crisis averted, lives saved and all."

"Most probably," Rose answered coolly, straightening up in her seat.

"What? Why?" Kate asked, looking to Helen for explanation.

"Oh, you'll see me again soon enough, don't fret," Rosie said fondly, reaching over to pat her knee.

"Rose has never been terribly good at long term arrangements," Helen supplied with knowing smile.

"Commitment-phobe," she agreed with a grin. "But I also have a tendency to revisit old stomping grounds so I'm confident we'll meet again."

She opened her mouth to continue but was suddenly cut off by another coughing fit. She waved away Helen's concern as she grabbed the glass of water once more, knocking what was left of it back in one go. Sighing, she frowned, closing her eyes as winced slightly. Then her eyes flew open

"Because Nikola, they were just as damn haughty as those ancestors you hold so dear," she all but spat, startling the others. Nikola pulled a face, crossing his legs as he gazed absently across the room.

"I am nothing like them," she said after a moment. "They believed themselves to be beyond reproach and the only thing that truly separated them from the vampires was that we never wanted to subjugate the humans. For the most part we were content to sit back and reflect on our own damn perfection. Happy now?"

In an instant she was sitting up again, glaring at Nikola. Her jaw was set and contempt laced her tone, confusing the hell out of everyone else.

"No need to be so vehement," he drawled. Then as Helen shot him a questioning glance he sighed. "I only asked why a race so high and mighty that had the power to eradicate the vampire's so thoroughly decided to hang back and let the human's do the majority of the dirty work in a way that can only be described as barbaric."

"And then you asked why I chose to sacrifice myself, being of such a perfect race," she continued sarcastically, anger clear in her voice. "You know bloody well why Nikola so don't you dare do this."

A tense moment passed as Nikola studiously avoided everyone's gaze, only turning to Rose when she sighed. The two shared a moment before Rose cracked a smile, chuckling at something he'd thought.

His well masked fear and then anger at her faded quickly at her silent and unspoken apology. Helen didn't need to hear what they were discussing to know that the other woman had apologised for causing her sometimes lover such distress. They'd never been able to hate each other for long, it was why they had remained so close after all these years but it sent a pang of something unexpected jealously through her.

_Don't be,_ Rose whispered softly. _You'll always be the woman for him._ Helen spluttered internally at the words, eyes widening in shock as Rose winked at her.

_Don't even try and pretend otherwise_, she warned. _I heard your thoughts as he was sucking on your neck. Do you have any idea how hard it was to concentrate on pretending to be angry at him when you were practically begging for him to take you then and there?_

"Rose," Helen hissed, straightening up in her seat. Sure the sensation had been disturbingly pleasurable but she hadn't been nearly so ready to spread her legs. Had she?

_Oh you most certainly were,_ Rose said with a mental chuckle. _I wonder how Nikola would react if I were to tell him as such..._ she mused, turning to grin at Nikola who, while smiling back, looked mildly confused. Until he took in Helen's distress at which point he grinned, leering at her as he sat up a little straighter.

"Rose," she said again, this time more firmly. Rose chuckled out loud before tapping the side of her nose.

"Have no fear Helen," she said in a mock whisper. "Your dirty little secret is safe with me."

"You two are like an old married couple," Kate joked and Rose laughed.

"Now that's a façade we've never had to put on before," she said, giving Helen a fond look. "Probably because of the age thing."

"Says the grandmother to the foetus," Helen responded with a smile of her own.

"I'd say you don't look a day over two hundred but I've used that one before," Rose replied, dimpling at her as she giggled.

"I was going to ask if you were feeling any better," Will said with a smile, "but you appear to be back to normal."

"Peachy keen, jelly bean," she replied, winking at him. "Although... John," she called cheerfully. "Be a dear and open that window behind you."

John looked to Helen before doing just that, throwing the windows wide open to allow in the gentle breeze.

Smiling broadly, Rose stood up. In a flash she yanked off her baggy t-shirt to reveal a black tank top before walking determinedly towards John and the open window. Graciously he stood up from the window seat, allowing her better passage. When she reached the seat, she held out her hand to him which he took, steadying her as she climbed up to stand on the seat. She released his hand, stepping towards the window. Grasping the frame firmly in hand, she leant forwards, sighing before breathing deeply and stepping forward.

The second she dropped out of sight, everyone else in the room stood up, rushing to the window as one.

"What the hell is she doing?" Helen asked in frustration, reaching the window just in time to see Rosie fly straight up past them, wings working hard as she soared through the sky, dipping and twirling with ease. From where they stood, they heard snatches of her joyous laughter but Helen, worried not only that a girl with wings would make front page news but also that Rose wasn't quite ready for such a burst of energy, knelt on the seat to poke her head out the window. In a matter of seconds Rose flew towards them slowly, rolling her shoulders as her feet touched down on the cushion.

Helen shuffled back, reprimand ready on her tongue but as Rose stepped back onto the floor, she wobbled, legs giving out and forcing John to catch her before she fell.

"That may have been a little premature," she allowed weakly, turning to smile tentatively at John before accepting Nikola's outstretched arms to help her back to the couch.

They settled once more and it didn't escape Helen's notice that the pair of them sat very closely this time, Nikola's arm resting discreetly around her waist as Rosie's shoulder bumped against his chest. Rose looked to Helen, biting her lip but didn't shy away from the contact, in fact, she shuffled further into his embrace, placing a hand lightly on his knee.

"That was a very bad idea," Helen said, finally dragging her mind away from the placement of the young woman's small hand. "You aren't strong enough for things like that Rose."

"I know," she said softly. "I'm sorry but I couldn't help myself. I swear I've got bloody bed sores and I just needed to... to move."

"Next time, move in less life threatening ways," Helen advised and Rose chuckled.

"Yes mother," she teased, poking her tongue out.

"Play nice," Nikola interjected and Rose rolled her eyes.

"You aren't meant to take her side."

"I'll always take Helen's side," he quipped, looking over to Helen with a smirk that made the innocuous statement somehow dirty.

"Oh, Rose, before I forget," Helen said suddenly, standing up and walking towards her desk. "I know how you feel about medical records and such but I had no choice."

"I know," Rose said. "It's alright, you practically brought me back to life so I don't think I'll hold a handful of medical tests against you."

Helen smiled in thanks before moving back to sit opposite her friend, folder sitting on her lap.

"This is everything," she said, tapping the folder. "All the test results I have, all the notes Nikola and I made over the past few days. Everything."

"Keep it," Rosie said, cutting Helen off. "You can keep it, I don't mind."

"But-."

"I know what I said but, well, the tests have already been run and I can practically see your heart breaking at the thought of giving up that folder," she replied with a grin. "Keep it Helen. Just, you know, keep it safe."

Helen smiled, unsure of what to say but once again Rose cut her off.

"And yes, you can have some more of my blood. But on one condition."

"Really?" Helen asked, trying to keep from sounding like an eager child on Christmas morning.

"Really. Just try to be a little more gentle with the giant needles this time. I'm not sure I could cope with an excavation like your last little sample," she said, rubbing her arm as she made a face.

"Perhaps if you squirmed a little less..." Helen suggested with a smile.

"I think she's right, my dear," Nikola said to Rosie. "I've always found Helen's touch with the needle to be feather light."

"Suck up," Rose muttered accusingly as the other's all chuckled at her behaviour.

Oh yes, Helen thought, Rose was most certainly back.


	32. A Single Moment of Peace

**Happy Sunday! This was meant to be up earlier but I got very little writing done this week and nowhere near enough to warrant an early updates. Two chapters after this and I can tell you that there are elements of the one coming you won't like. No knicker-knotting, alright? I think this chapter might be a little confusing but it's almost meant to be that way. Let me know if you have questions :)**

**xx**

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><p>It was late afternoon and everyone had wandered off to their separate corners of the Sanctuary, each processing the events of the previous week. Helen had locked herself in the lab, determined to unlock the secrets of her shared DNA with Rose and even John knew better than to disturb her. She'd been after a vial of the girl's blood for the better part of a century and now she had it plus many more reasons to study the substance. This was not a project into which anyone except Rose would be allowed to interfere.<p>

So, instead of seeking out Helen to make the goodbye he knew he had to give, John went in search of the one person he knew would deliver the message correctly. Unfortunately the girl in question was harder to find than normal. No amount of mental calls had prompted her to appear before him in that way that was almost always startling. He contemplated asking Nikola if he knew where she was but he wasn't entirely sure that Nikola would even know. Despite the fact that they'd made up, there was still a tension in their relationship that made John question the depth of apology that had been given.

Then, as he caught a glimpse of the setting sun, John knew where to go.

* * *

><p>"I was wondering when you'd find me," Rosie said, not turning from her seat on the edge of the tower. She was sitting cross-legged on the old stone wall surrounding the turret like structure, eyes closed, hands neatly folded in her lap. The light breeze ruffled her hair softly and made the floaty sleeves of her dress shudder slightly. "Though I'll admit you took less time than I expected."<p>

"You are rather predictable," John replied softly, taking a seat next to her, swinging his long legs over the low wall. The sun was setting, casting a fiery glow over New City as it sprawled out before them. The river meandered by slowly, its dull surface still managing to reflect some of the amber glow. For a moment they sat silently, John taking in the sight before him.

"Why are you here John?" she asked eventually, not a hint of annoyance in her tone. She was curious.

"You keep the beast at bay," he replied quietly. His eyes remained on the sunset but he could tell Rose was looking at him now. "Why is that?" he asked quietly, turning to meet her gaze, surprised to see the usual fire in her eyes was dimmed now. The hatred she usually held for him seemed to be held back in much the same way as his blood lust was.

"It's afraid of me, much as you used to be," she said with a small smirk and he had to smile at that.

"I still am," he said, looking back over the city.

"As I am of you," she quipped softly, returning her own gaze to the view.

"Why?" John asked.

"Because I know what you will do." Ah, he thought, that ever present vision. He let out a low breath and mentally cursed whatever hideous act his future self would commit.

"You must fight the darkness John," Rosie said suddenly her head whipping around to stare at him, "because the second you stop, the second you give in and let that beast have free reign… I will not be the only one to die." The passion was back in her eyes now and he could hear the plea in her voice. She wanted him to fight because she didn't want to die at his hand.

"That's what you saw? All those years ago back in Oxford?" he asked, returning her intense gaze.

"That's what I see every time we touch," she said sadly. She smiled tentatively at him but it did not reach her eyes which had widened significantly.

"Why haven't you killed me then? Surely that would prevent your death," he asked desperately. Another murder to his name was not something he wanted. Oh the beast wanted it but he did not. Especially not someone for whom Helen cared so deeply.

"I cannot kill you anymore than I could kill Helen, John. It's not your fault that you are a monster. _You_ are not a monster. You will one day redeem yourself and though I shall not live much past that moment, I do look forward to the day."

A silence fell over them, John unable to comprehend what she was saying. He knew she could hear the questions in his mind but, while he desperately wanted answers, he was almost glad that she left him in peace.

Some minutes later, as the sun sunk lower, Rose began to shuffle around, unfolding her legs as she dug into the pocket of her dress. Letting her legs swing over the edge, she sighed softly and slowly unfolded her hand.

"I bought this for Ashley some time ago," she said softly, holding her hand out to him. It was a tiny silver locket on a long chain. With tentative fingers, John picked it up, turning over the antique jewellery slowly. It was well polished with a small star on the front, a seed pearl embedded in the middle. It was delicate and subtle, a child's necklace.

"I'm not sure she would have worn it," he said, flicking open the catch. It seemed too delicate for the Ashley he had met on too few occasions.

"Of course she wouldn't have. But it's a perfect replica of the one Helen has," Rose said, looking over at him with a smile. The setting sun cast an odd glow over and John was struck by how peaceful the normally violent girl seemed. Something about the memory of Ashley seemed to make her melancholy but there was still a smile in her eyes.

"You loved her." It was a statement, not a question.

"She was like a sister to me."

He'd always know that Ashley had been loved and had known love but hearing it from someone so unexpected helped to… well, not ease his guilt at his absence but it certainly made it less painful.

"Thank you for being there for her," he said sincerely, turning to face Rose. It was strange to think that he owed his life to someone who had loved his daughter yet hated him with such passion that, at times, he wondered how he'd managed to live as long as he had.

"It was my pleasure. I only wish you'd been able to too," Rose said with a small smile. Then she grinned. "I think you'd have been able to reign her in better than either Helen or I ever could."

"You're just saying that to be kind."

Rose chuckled.

"Maybe," she conceded with a smile.

"Why though? Why try and comfort me?" he asked suddenly, the need to know overweighing the fear at the possible answer.

"Because you are not at fault. You are not a monster, John. You fight the dark thoughts while the monster feeds on them. You have a monster within you and there is a difference, even I can see that." Her words were bitter, almost as though she wanted to be able to hold it against him. But, if the future really was as dire as she foretold, why did she pain herself to admit it?

"But if I'm to kill you, what's the point?" he asked, turning to look at her.

"I am not afraid of death. I have sought it for far too long to hold a grudge," she answered, not looking at him. Then she smirked. "Well, maybe just a little one. You're a good man John. Evil, but a good man too. Sometimes I forget that."

"Are you scared of what I will do to you?" he asked after a moment.

"Not anymore," she said confidently. "I've had a very long time to come to terms with my death and while I doubt that it will be as peaceful as I'd like, I have to have faith that there is a reason for it all."

John looked at her curiously, wondering what it would be like to know that kind of peace. He'd spent so long running from death, prolonging his life through the most illicit of means that the idea that death was not something to be feared was strange. He knew one day he would die but, until he had no choice but to stop, he'd use Helen's blood to prolong his life, simply so that he shouldn't die before her.

"I intend to greet death like an old friend," she said softly. There was a pause.

"Where's that from?"

"Am I not allowed to be profound?" she said haughtily but John wisely, did not take the bait, instead waiting for the answer he knew would come eventually.

"Harry Potter," she groused and John laughed freely.

"Well it's better than Twilight," she replied with a smirk.

"I'm sure."

For the first time in his memory, a comfortable silence fell over them and John felt the human half of him begin to relax. Of course, the monster within him was still on edge, wondering how long it would take her to give in to the urge to push him over the edge. Perhaps it was because Helen was down stairs and would get angry at her for such an action. Ah, but there was an interesting train of thought. Would she care?

"I can't promise you the future John, not the one you want," she burst out suddenly, breaking into his stream of thought. "I can't promise you Helen anymore than I can make that same promise to myself. But I can promise she cares, I can promise that she doesn't want you to die by my hand. I can't promise she'll come back to you anymore than I can promise to not try and kill you next time we meet… I wish I could, more than anything but I can't make that promise to either of us."

"It would be so easy," he mused quietly and she hummed in agreement.

"Almost too easy," she added softly and he could hear the warning in her voice. "I couldn't hurt them like that."

"You love him," he said softly and, for some reason, it felt like a revelation.

"I love both of them," she answered carefully. "More than anything." Her tone softened and John knew it was true.

"You have to go," she said cautiously after a few more minutes of unnatural peace. "Both of us do," she added at his raised eyebrow. "And it's alright, I'll tell Helen," she said kindly, understanding the pain he was going to suffer away from her.

Unsure of what to say next, John rose from his seat, casting one last glance out over the blood red sunset as he prayed for her to be wrong. It was pointless, he knew but as he disappeared in a flash of red he couldn't stop himself from hoping.

"Stay safe John," Rose whispered, closing her eyes as a single tear rolled down her cheek. "Stay sane."


	33. Secrets That Are Hard To Keep

By the time Rose came to find Helen to deliver the news of John's departure, it was early evening. Helen hadn't been sure of what to say, nodding at the news. She hadn't really expected John to hang around as long as he had but his inability to say good bye to her in person stung. Despite everything their past held, she still considered him a friend.

Rosie had been startlingly quiet, not interrupting Helen's train of thought on the matter. In fact, they'd both wallowed in silence for several long moments before Helen's computer beeped incessantly at them.

Rose rolled her eyes at the intrusion but lounged further back into her chair as she waited for Helen to answer the video call.

"Hey Doc," Henry said enthusiastically. "Is, uh, is Rosie with you?"

"Yes," Helen said warily, looking over at the now smirking young woman.

"Oh, O.K, well, uh we were wondering if you guys could, uh, come down to the sitting room in the east wing," he continued, his voice slightly distorted as it came from her speakers.

"Certainly Henry," she agreed, not letting her apprehension show. He grinned at her before terminating the link and Helen shook her head, looking to Rose.

"What did you do?"

"Hey! Don't blame me!" she cried with a grin. "Blame Kate. And Henry. And Will a little bit too but not me. I swear I didn't put the idea in their heads."

Helen shot her an uncertain look before standing up and making her way to the door, Rose skipping along merrily behind her. She'd changed from the baggy sweats she'd been wearing and, after what Helen would guess to be the longest shower in the history of showers, her friend looked far better than she had this morning. Her summer dress swirled around her calves as they hurried through the corridors and Helen grew even more curious at what her team had planned.

Rose chuckled happily, obviously having done some snooping but remained silent, giving Helen no clue as to what they were headed into.

It took them only a minute to make it to the room but, as Helen reached for the door knob, Rose stopped her.

"I'd suggest you get out your gun," she said with a startlingly straight face. Helen raised an eyebrow but Rose simply widened her eyes imploringly. Sighing, Helen shook her head and ignored the girl.

"I'll not be part of your games," she said tartly and Rose scoffed.

"Not my games," she advised with a grimace as Helen threw open the door to the most haphazard surprise party she'd ever seen.

Nikola stood in the corner, arms crossed as he scowled at the others who stood around in various states of shock. Will was holding a half inflated balloon as he stared at the door, Kate appeared to be more surprised than the new arrivals and Henry had a mouthful of food.

"I told you so," Nikola said smugly and Rose chuckled, sauntering forwards with a smile.

"Don't tease them," she chastised lightly. "It was a lovely gesture."

"I honestly don't understand they thought they'd be able to keep a surprise party a surprise with a telepath in the building," he said with a sigh.

"A party?" Helen asked from where she stood in the doorway.

"Well, 'cause Rose is leaving," Kate began uncertainly. "I mean, it's not really a party..."

"More just an excuse to stuff their faces and drink their way through your top shelf," Nikola finished with a grin at Helen.

"Oh yeah, 'cause what do you do every time you're here that's so different?" Henry asked Nikola indignantly.

"It's merely compensation for my valuable time and effort," Nikola replied haughtily and Rose scoffed.

"If they gave Henry twice the time they gave you, I'm fairly certain they'd get the same result with less of a headache," she teased, grabbing a chip from the nearest bowl. "Plus Henry bathes more often than you."

Nikola shot her a withering look before stalking to Helen's side.

"Darling," he drawled, settling an arm around her waist. "What's say we leave the children to their games and go make our own mess?"

"Step on his foot Helen, he hates it when you do that," Rose called cheerfully. "Or mess up his hair. He puts more effort into it than Will does."

"Now that's an idea," Helen said, turning as she stepped away from him.

"Traitor," he muttered at Rose who simply smiled serenely before turning to Kate.

"Music?" she asked with a smile and Kate nodded enthusiastically, grabbing Henry and dragging him over to the computer set up in the corner. They muttered to each other for a few minutes before music floated through the room.

"Ew," Rose complained, making a face. "Haven't any of you got any taste when it comes to music?"

"Gaga," Kate deadpanned and Henry snickered.

"Do you deny the impact that song had?" Rose asked belligerently but, just as Kate opened her mouth to respond, Helen jumped in.

"How about we get something to drink?" she suggested, grabbing Rose's shoulder. The younger girl laughed softly but followed Helen's lead, winking at Kate as they headed to the other side of the room.

"Do you really think I'd pick a fight with her?" Rosie asked, bemused.

"Undoubtedly. And you'd win. Which is why I'm worried," Helen answered as she grabbed them both a drink. "I really don't fancy having to clean up that kind of mess."

"Oh, I'm much too fond of that girl to treat her like that," Rose said with a grin. "She reminds me of me."

"And you have the ability to fight with yourself on a very regular basis," Helen continued as they leant against the wall, watching the others mingle. "Kate is no where near ready to handle your rather twisted sense of humour."

"Oh, I don't know," Rose said mysteriously as she chuckled darkly.

"You know, when you smile like that, you look frighting like Nikola," Helen said, eyeing her friend with a mix of apprehension and frustration in her eyes.

_Oh I know,_ she said, chuckling once more. _And I know how it drives you to distraction._

And with that, she pushed off the wall, turning to flash Helen a smile before holding out a small folded piece of paper.

"Later, when all of this is over," she said as Helen took the small note. "Find Nikola and give him this for me."

"You really are leaving then?" Helen asked, lowering her voice as she pocketed the note.

"Aw, don't do this," Rose whined, stepping closer to Helen as she too lowered her voice. "I thought after last time you promised we'd have no more sentimental good-byes."

"This isn't sentimental," Helen argued quietly. "I just..."

Rose sighed.

"I know. It's just, well, you know, it get's awkward and then I feel bad and then you start to feel bad and then it all falls apart," she muttered sheepishly, staring up at Helen with big, bashful eyes.

"Oh come here," Helen said after a beat, opening her arms as Rose flung her arms around Helen's neck.

"I really will miss you," Rose whispered, holding Helen tight. "And you mustn't hesitate to call. I'd love to hear from you again this decade."

"Same goes for you," Helen replied with a soft laugh as Rose released her. Clearing her throat, Rose straightened up, fixing her skirt as she tried not to grin at Helen.

"Well, now that's done," she teased before winking and turning away. "Oh, and don't forget the thing," she said, tapping the side of her nose before dancing away to where Henry and Will were standing by the table.

Sighing, Helen shook her head before taking a sip of the wine in her hand. It wasn't anything special (because only she, Nikola and the Big Guy knew how to get at the really good stuff) but she was glad for it. She knew Rose was going to have to leave, she always did but that didn't mean she wanted her to. Having Rose around was comforting, they knew each other well and while the woman was a walking headache, it was nice to have someone around who was able to understand why Helen was often so exhausted.

True, Nikola was her equal in many ways but Rosie somehow surpassed them both and she was more than willing to let them know it. But more than that, Rose was her friend and after all this time true friends were in short supply for her. It would be nice to have someone around who could just talk with her without the fear of 'Helen Magnus'.

_Helen,_ she warned. _Don't start now or I'll be forced to drag you upstairs, braid you hair, paint your toenails and spill to you all my life secrets._

Helen chuckled aloud at the thought and tried to content herself with the fact that Rose was finally back in her life after too many years apart. Looking up, she scanned the room only to find Rosie just seconds before her lips landed on Nikola's for what appeared to be a very bruising kiss.

Only when the smaller woman pulled away did Helen finally remember to avert her eyes, strolling over to Will quickly in the hopes of hiding her strange and unfamiliar thoughts. Damn Rose and her inability to keep things private. Out of the corner of her eye Helen noticed her and Nikola slip out of the room and, while the sight sent a bolt of something foreign straight to her gut, she chuckled.

Same bloody Rose.

* * *

><p><strong>Oooh, second to last chapter! Yay! (I think) Anyway, it's a bit rough despite having been reshuffled and rewritten. And I promise the next chapter is much more Teslen-y. In preparation, I want you all to go listen to the song this story is named for, sung by Vera Lynn. Should help with the visual :P<strong>

**xx**


	34. Notes

It was almost the next day when Helen found herself standing outside one of the smaller libraries on the upper floors, somehow certain that she'd find Nikola there. The note Rose had given her was clutched tightly in one hand and with the other, she tentatively pushed open the door. The room was softly lit, the great windows at one end of the room standing open just enough to let a fresh breeze waft through. There was an open bottle of wine on the table with a glass sitting next to it.

Nikola was standing by the window, a small piece of paper dangling from his slender fingers as he twirled a glass of wine in the other hand. With a smile, Helen stepped into the room, making sure to close the door behind her. Nikola spun to face her but, before he could greet her, there was a slight scratching noise from the other side of the room. They both turned to face to source of the noise, slightly startled as music began to float through the room.

"_We'll meet again… Don't know where… Don't know when…"_

Helen smiled at the familiar tune coming from the old record player. She quickly looked around the room for the woman she was certain had set this up but, with the exception of Nikola, she was alone.

"Very clever," Nikola drawled as he sauntered over to her, setting down his wine glass as he went.

"Quite," Helen conceded, moving to meet him in the middle of the room. "This is for you," she said, holding up the paper. "And I'd guess that's for me."

"So I've been told," he said, holding out the paper to her as he stepped closer. She accepted the paper before offering him the other. Curiosity blazing through their bodies, they both flipped open their notes at the same time, reading the message quickly.

_Enjoy  
>xx<em>

Shaking her head and smiling, Helen flipped the note over to show Nikola its contents. He smirked at her before doing the same. Helen let out a soft laugh as she took in the identical notes.

"She always had a flair for the dramatic," she remarked softly and Nikola chuckled.

"Always," Nikola agreed with a smile as he plucked the note from her hand, tossing it and his own to the table nearby. "How 'bout it then?" he asked, throwing his arms wide. Helen raised an eyebrow sceptically and he let out a long suffering sigh. "Just a dance Helen, just a dance."

"In that case," she said with a smile, stepping towards him. Nikola smiled broadly in response before taking her in his arms, pulling her to stand flush against his own body. She rolled her eyes at his manoeuvre but didn't pull away as they began to sway in time with the music. With a contented sigh, Helen shifted until she could lay her head on Nikola's shoulder, shutting her eyes as the music lead their movements. Nikola tightened his arms around her slightly and began to sing along softly, his voice low and melodic in her ear and she began to relax into his embrace, content to stay there for a good time to come.

If either of them had had the presence of mind to look out the window they may have seen a flash of white twirling through the air. If they'd listened closely they might have also heard a soft voice singing along to the record too. But they didn't look and they didn't hear, too wrapped up in their dance to notice much else.

_So, will you please say hello__  
><em>_To the folks that I know__  
><em>_Tell them I won't be long__  
><em>_They'll be happy to know__  
><em>_That as you saw me go__  
><em>_I was singing this song__We'll meet again__  
><em>_Don't know where__  
><em>_Don't know when__  
><em>_But I know we'll meet again__  
><em>_Some sunny day..._

_**~FIN~**_

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><p><strong>And there you go, the very last chapter of this story. Of course, we have two sequels coming up but I'm still a little sad to see this go. But I have to giggle, finally, as I post the last chapter, I have a cover for this fic :P<strong>

**I have nothing but love for all of you who have taken the time to review. It may not seem like much but just a few words actually made a huge difference to me. I'm eternally grateful for the encouragement, blatant abuse of Rose (which I totally love :P) and the questions you've all posed to me. Fingers crossed the next story keeps you hooked too :)**

**Speaking of the next story, it's called 'Baby It's Cold Outside' and should be up either next Sunday or shortly after (I'm a little behind schedule at the moment). Lots more Teslen (for those interested in such but I will warn y'all, it's not exactly 'married with kids' fodder) and lots of non-romance-y moments (for those interested in those kinds of things too). **

**Anyway, in short. Thank you, thank you, thank you. THANK YOU!**

**Also, stay tuned!**

**xx**


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